EU projects in the region are recognised by leading world organisations and by the local partners, as being impactful and standing as reasons for hope to growth and development. Through cross-fertilization, EU can reinforce its footprint in the higher education systems in the region. Panama is a small and dynamic country receptive to modernisation, and willing to introduce a regional approach. Involving Cuba - isolated so many years - is an important step towards integrating the higher education on the island in a regional context. The Cuban Ministry of Higher Education is a partner in the project and is willing to promote a comprehensive introduction of higher education internationalisation in the country.To achieve concrete results and avoid opportunistic behaviours with uncertain long-term benefits, universities need to engage in a structured internationalisation process.FORINT aims to integrate the international dimension into the teaching, research and service functions of Cuban and Panamanian higher education system, and to strengthen the universities' capacities for education and research and improve their academic quality and standards. The project will use a comprehensive methodology directed at the target audiences of universities ( faculty, administrators and students), addressing a full spectrum of internationalisation objectives, including raising awareness, increasing the visibility of institutions within the region and establishment of international contact points in each partner university.Measurable results will be achieved during the lifetime of the project, visible as concrete international partnerships enabled by the partners’ participation in international and regional conferences.The outcomes of the projects will be turned into guidelines accessible to all institutions in the region willing to replicate the process. The FORINT portal will extend the impact of the project beyond its lifetime, facilitating international cooperation.