HAVANA, May 27 (NNN-ACN) — With the aim of evaluating the implementation of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) between Cuba and the European Union (EU), the 3rd Joint Council between the largest of the Antilles and the Community bloc took place in Havana.
Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, deputy prime minister and minister of foreign trade and foreign investment, and Josep Borrell Fontelles, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and vice president of the European Commission, along with other officials and diplomats from both sides participated in the opening of the meeting.
Cabrisas Ruiz emphasized that this represents the first visit of his counterpart in his current responsibility to the Caribbean nation, an occasion to review objectives of mutual interest contemplated in the documents subscribed in matters of collaboration and expansion of bilateral relations.
The deputy prime minister recalled that the PDCA, signed in December 2016, is currently in its third cycle of provisional implementation, since it began to be implemented in this way in November 2017.
The meeting takes place during the celebrations for the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the continental grouping, in addition to sustaining uninterrupted ties with its 27 member states, he added.
Borrell Fontelles ratified the willingness of his delegation to face the dialogues with frankness and constructive will to continue advancing in the rapprochements and bring development projects to a successful conclusion.
Meanwhile, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel held separate talks at Havana’s Revolution Palace with Josep Borrell.
During the meeting, Diaz-Canel and Borrell corroborated the contribution of the European Union-Cuba Political Dialog and Cooperation Agreement, and the maturity of the dialog on diverse topics in a respectful manner and under the principles of reciprocity and equality.
They also exchanged views on the positive results of the Third European Union-Cuba Joint Council held in Havana on Friday.
The huge damage inflicted on EU-Cuba relations by the US blockade and the inclusion on Cuba on the US list of states sponsors of terrorism were also on high on the talks between Borrell and Diaz-Canel.
Borrell arrived in Havana May 24 on an official visit which included, talks with local entrepreneurs, co-presiding over the Third EU-Cuba Joint Council, meeting with local authorities among other activities. — NNN-ACN
