Cuba needs a direct foreign investment of about US$ 2.5 billion year to fund its socialist, prosperous and sustainable socio-economic model, said today the vice president of the Council of Ministers, Marino Murillo.

Not promoting foreign investment would hold up national development, Murillo said speaking at the special session of Parliament to discuss the draft bill on foreign investment.

He explained that over the last decade Cubas average growth rate is 1.8 percent and capital accumulation is 13 percent, lower than Latin Americas. This shows the need for access to foreign capital, he insisted.

For this year, Cubaâ�Ös growth plan is 2.2 percent, showing that while the economy grows, it does so at a rate that slows the development, Murillo said.

Murillo noted that the national economy requires an annual rate of between five and seven percent, and to achieve this, it is necessary to reach accumulation rates of 20-25 percent, through loans and foreign direct investment.

While foreign participation is seen as a complement to national investment effort in activities that are of interest to the country, the new law provides that foreign investment is relevant in specific sectors.

Livestock, dairy, agriculture and changing the energy matrix require strong foreign financing, Murillo said.

A good foreign investment does not mean giving away the country, he concluded