Cuba and the European Union ratify willingness to deepen ties

 HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 6 (ACN) Cuba and the European Union (EU) ratified the will to continue advancing in their relations, based on the principles and objectives outlined in the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement, signed in 2016.

According to a statement from the Cuban foreign ministry, this was revealed in a meeting between the director for Europe and Canada of the Cuban foreign ministry, Gisela Garcia Rivera, and the head of the division for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Jonathan Hatwell.

At the EEAS headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, both parties expressed their satisfaction with the reactivation, in person in most cases, of the political and sectoral dialogues, and of the bodies supervising compliance with and implementation of the Agreement, which will make it possible to complete its third cycle in the coming months.

The Cuban diplomat thanked Hatwell for the demonstrations of solidarity and help offered by the EU in the wake of the recent accidents in the cities of Havana (Saratoga Hotel in May) and Matanzas (Supertanker Base in August), and underscored the high respect Cuba attaches to solidarity among people and governments.

She referred to the negative impact of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on her country by the U.S. government more than 60 years ago, and acknowledged the support of the community bloc for the resolution Cuba is presenting before the United Nations against that unilateral policy.

The officials welcomed the steps taken by the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States to reactivate the bi-regional link, among them the meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs to be held next October in Buenos Aires.