Cuba and the U.S.A. Agree New Steps in Bilateral Relations

HAVANA, Cuba, May 16 (acn) Representatives of Cuba and the United States updated the roadmap on the road to normalization of ties between the two nations, including high-level visits in areas such as health and agriculture and new exchanges on hydrography, the environment and the implementation of and compliance with Law.

At the end of the third meeting of the Bilateral Commission, Josefina Vidal, director general of the United States Department of the Cuban Foreign Ministry, declared in a news conference that these have become practice since December 17, 2014, and described it as a productive meeting, which was held in an atmosphere of professionalism and mutual respect.
The Cuban diplomat asserted that in the six months elapsed since the last meeting of the Commission, an increase of exchanges at different levels, technical and diplomatic, can be established, which reached its peak with the official visit of President Barack Obama to the island in March.
She noted that Cuba appreciates positively the three-day stay of the U.S. head of state in Cuba and considered that a fresh impetus should be given to further progress in normalizing relations.
Vidal said that until September, when they will meet again, they will work to achieve new agreements in areas such as health, agriculture and the exchange of information in the meteorological and seismological fields.
Cooperation in terrestrial protected areas, which will continue the agreement on protection of coastal ecosystems, actions to be jointly developed in case of oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, and search and rescue activities in the face of disasters will be on the agenda of talks.
A new topic representatives of both countries will address in the coming weeks will be that of intellectual property, including industrial property and the protection of trademarks and patents, of great importance for the Cuban party due to implications for its renowned companies.
Vidal reiterated that the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the northern country against Cuba continues to be the main obstacle to revitalize relations, since this policy slows down the development of the Cuban people, and also affects U.S. citizens and companies and citizens of the world.
She exemplified that since November, due to the extraterritorial effects of the blockade, three fines were applied –to a French company and two U.S. companies-; institutions of that country carried out 14 actions of a financial nature against Cuba, and 13 international banks implemented measures to cease operations, cancellation of services and closure of Cuban bank accounts in third countries.
The director general of the United States Department of the Cuban Foreign Ministry assessed the Bilateral Commission as a space for both countries to put on the table the issues they're interested in with regard to their relationship, especially in what lies ahead towards normalizing ties.
The United States was represented at the meeting by Kristie Kenney, adviser to the State Department; Jeffrey DeLaurentis, Charge d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy to Havana, and John S. Creamer, Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs, who will monitor the Cuba issue, like his predecessor, Roberta Jacobson, appointed U.S. Ambassador to Mexico.
A press release from the US Embassy in Havana on the meeting of the Bilateral Commission acknowledges that there have been significant steps towards greater cooperation in environmental protection, civil aviation, direct mail, port and maritime security, health, agriculture, educational and cultural exchanges, and regulatory issues.