Havana, Rabi'I 19, 1437, December 30, 2015, SPA -- Cuba is aiming to achieve economic growth of 2 per cent next year after a 4-per-cent increase in 2015, a government minister said Tuesday, according to dpa. "To grow in the midst of worldwide crisis is something positive. And 2 per cent growth in the coming year is also good," Economic and Planning Minister Marino Murillo said in the National Assembly. Cuba wants to increase production and reduce imports, he said. "Everything we can produce in Cuba should be produced here," Murillo told members of parliament in Havana. "It is better to import raw materials and process them than to buy finished products on the world market." Despite solid growth in the year that is ending, growth in the agriculture industry, particularly sugar production, as well as the construction and transport sectors lagged behind government expectations. The socialist government will continue to invest more in profitable sectors such as tourism, biotechnology and energy, Murillo said during a biannual plenary session of the Cuban Parliament. A discussion of the draft budget for the coming year was expected to take place during the meeting. A speech by President Raul Castro also was on the agenda. --SPA 01:26 LOCAL TIME 22:26 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w