Canberra, March 12, 2020.- The Cuban Ambassador to Australia, Ariel Lorenzo Rodríguez had a pleasant exchange with John Williams, Assistant Secretary of the Australian Foreign Ministry for the Pacific Division.
The potentialities to promote triangular cooperation projects between Cuba and Australia for the benefit of the small Pacific island states or the Caribbean region were discussed during the meeting. The Cuban diplomat referred to experiences of this kind already developed between the two countries, in particular during the containment of the cholera outbreak in Haiti in 2011 and, in recent years, by supporting postgraduate training for young people from Kiribati graduated from the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM).
It was agreed that health sector, facing up climate change and natural disaster preparedness were opportunities to cooperate and share mutual experiences.
Despite the geographical distance, Cuba attaches special importance to its relations with the small Pacific States with which common challenges are share. Cuba is the only country in the Latin American and Caribbean region which figures among the eighteen dialogue partners of the Pacific Islands Forum. For decades, the Caribbean island has maintained cooperation projects in the region, through the granting of scholarships, the training of local medical personnel and the presence of Cuban health professionals on the ground.