Cuba and Canadian FMs Talk Bilateral Issues

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez received on Thursday his Canadian counterpart Chrystia Freeland who is making a working visit to Cuba.

Minister Rodríguez reiterated the importance that the Cuban government attaches to the historical and mutually beneficial relations with Canada and it will to continue expanding them in all fields.

He thanked the traditional support of Canada to the resolution against the blockade that is approved every year in the General Assembly of the United Nations and to the position that the government of that country has assumed regarding the application of the Helms-Burton Act.

He also expressed concern about the negative effects on family, personal and the development of cultural, educational, academic and scientific exchanges, among others, of Canada’s unfounded decision to suspend the services of granting visas to Cuban citizens at its Consulate in Havana as a consequence of the withdrawal of part of its diplomatic and consular staff without the slightest evidence of risks to their security.

In addressing the issues on the international and regional agenda, the Cuban Minister ratified Cuba’s willingness to contribute to initiatives that promote respectful dialogue with the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on the basis of the sovereign equality of States, the principles of international law and the postulates of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace; in particular, the rejection of the use or threat of use of force, and the application of unilateral coercive economic measures that cause humanitarian damage.

Accompanying the distinguished visitor were the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Michael Douglas Grant; the Vice Minister of International Trade, John Hannaford, and other officials from the Department of Global Affairs of Canada.

On the Cuban side, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Anayansi Rodriguez Camejo, Director General of Bilateral Affairs Emilio Lozada Garcia, Carlos Fernandez de Cossío, director general of the United States, and other officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs participated.