Cuban first vice minister holds talks with US researchers

HAVANA, Cuba, Jan 24 (ACN) Jorge Luis Perdomo Di-Lella, Cuban deputy prime minister, exchanged today in Havana with three directors of the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer (RCPI by its Spanish acronym) based in Buffalo, in the State of New York.

Perdomo Di-Lella stressed the importance of the visit to strengthen the links in scientific and technical matters and the promotion of science for the development of work that will make possible new advances in the field.

In that sense, he reiterated the support of the Cuban government and state for the collaboration with such a prestigious center at the international level, an example of how much the Cuban and U.S. people can achieve without any policy of blockade and sanctions between them.

He also highlighted the potential for cooperation in the preparation of new products and compounds for the treatment and prevention of diseases, a sector he described as decisive because of its importance in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in Cuba and in obtaining national vaccines.

On the U.S. side, Candace Johnson, director of the institution, defended the willingness to maintain close ties and trust with their counterparts on the island to promote joint objectives.

In this way, she praised the innovative capacity of Cuban scientists in finding different solutions to several problems linked to the limitations caused by the hostility of the U.S. government.

Both agreed on the willingness to continue deepening and consolidating scientific collaboration in the effort to improve the quality of life of people suffering from these ailments and to expand the services provided.

The RCPI was founded in 1898 as the first center dedicated to the study of cancer in the northern nation and is integrated, along with other leading entities in oncology research, into the National Cancer Institute and the country's National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

The meeting was attended by Carlos Fernandez de Cossio Dominguez, Cuban deputy minister of foreign affairs, Eduardo Martinez Diaz, president of the BioCubaFarma Business Group, and other authorities in the field.