Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, held official talks on Sunday December 7 at the Palace of the Revolution, the Right Honourable Freundel Stuart, Prime Minister of Barbados, who is on an official visit to our country and chairs the Barbadian delegation to the CARICOM-Cuba Summit V. During the cordial meeting, the two leaders exchanged views on the excellent state of the traditional relations of friendship and cooperation that bind two nations and reiterated the mutual desire to continue developing. Likewise, they discussed issues of regional and international agenda. The distinguished visitor was accompanied by Mrs. Sonja Welch, Permanent Secretary of the Prime Minister, and Mr. Charles Bournett, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla and Cuban Ambassador to Barbados, Francisco Fernández Peña, were in attendance for Cuba.
Upon arrival in Havana on Right Honourable Freundel Stuart, Prime Minister of Barbados, was received at "José Martí" International Airport by Ramos Maimir Bureau, Ministry of Informatics and Communications of the Republic of Cuba. The distinguished visitor arrived in Cuba to participate in the Fith CARICOM-Cuba Summit, to be held on Monday December 8 at the Palace of the Revolution. Upon his arrival at the airport terminal president made statements to the press and said "I am pleased to be the leader of one of the four countries met for the first time and made the decision to end the isolation of Cuba in 1972". The official delegation accompanying President is composed of the Vice Chancellor Charles Burnett and the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister, Sonja Welch, along with other officials of that country.
Cuba and Barbados established diplomatic relations on December 8, 1972. Almost a hundred young Barbadians have graduated from the Latin American School of Medicine, the International School of Sports and other careers in higher education in Cuba.
The Caribbean Community, CARICOM, for its acronym in English, was created on July 4, 1973 with the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, which transformed the Caribbean Free Trade Association in a regional integration mechanism. The CARICOM-Cuba Summit aims to take stock of relations in political, cooperation and economic and trade field. As well as address the damages of climate change, confronting natural disasters and official development assistance.