Kingston, Jamaica, 9 December 2019. This afternoon, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica, along with the Embassy of Cuba in the Caribbean nation, hosted a ceremony to celebrate CARICOM-Cuba Day.
The event was chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry Marcia Gilbert-Roberts, and was attended by the Ambassador of Cuba in Jamaica, a representation of the diplomatic corps accredited in the country, the Jamaica-Cuba Friendship Association and students of the "Jose Marti" Institute.
The Permanent Secretary and the Cuban diplomat recognized in their interventions the historical character of the relations between the CARICOM nations and Cuba, and highlighted the cooperation that our country offers to Jamaica and other Caribbean nations, especially in the areas of Education and Health. On the other hand, the Ambassador of Jamaica in Havana, Kathryn M. Phipps, present at the event by videoconference, highlighted the ties that binds Cuba with the rest of the insular Caribbean.
The students of the "José Martí" Institute, a teaching institution donated by the government of Cuba in the 1970s, offered two musical performances to those present.
At the ending of the ceremony, an exhibition of posters, infographics and traditional objects, dedicated to Cuban culture and the history of our country's relations with the Caribbean Community, was officially inaugurated in the Ministry lobby.
CARICOM-Cuba Day commemorates the courageous decision of the leaders of Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica, formally finalized on 8 December 1972, to establish diplomatic relations with Cuba, an act which effectively broke the diplomatic isolation imposed on us by the USA after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution.
