The 5th CARICOM Ministerial Meeting - Cuba met on Saturday with the presence of 17 senior officials from the bilateral mechanism. In the capital Havana Hotel Libre, representatives of the region discussed key issues for integration, cooperation and sustainable development of the Caribbean.
The Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz, presented the Second Protocol of the Economic Cooperation Agreement between CARICOM and the Republic of Cuba to Colin Granderson, the assistant general secretary of this regional mechanism.
This document expands the tariff preferences granted by Cuba in 2000 to the Commonwealth of Caribbean Nations, including 340 new Caribbean products with free access to the national market, while granting preferences to 85 of the Cuban side.
Cuban President Raúl Castro attends the opening of the XXII Ordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Association of Caribbean States (AEC), which takes place in this capital. In the meeting, foreign ministers and high-ranking representatives of the member countries of the regional mechanism for consultation, cooperation and concerted action, will evaluate the management of Cuba at the head of this body.
Distinguished delegates and special guests and other representatives of the delegations present: Cuba welcomes you to the XXII Ordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Association of Caribbean States, at which time the Caribbean countries meet again in Havana to Dialogue about our common interests and the risks we face in a shared way. We will review the progress of the implementation of the agreements of the VII Summit of the Association, held in Havana on June 4, 2016.
Cuba successfully concluded its administration today as the head of the pro tempore presidency of the Association of Caribbean States (AEC), said today Deputy Foreign Minister Rogelio Sierra.
At the end of the XXII Ordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the bloc, Sierra said that the island had an intense activity, aimed at revitalizing the operation of the Association, fulfilling the mandate it received last year at the Havana Summit.