State
of Delaware seeks to strengthen its relations with Cuba
This week an American
delegation met on the island with authorities from various ministries and state
entities, and also learned about the experience of new private companies.
in Cuba-USA
A delegation from
Delaware (USA), headed by the state secretaries of State and Agriculture, is
visiting Cuba these days with the intention of exploring trade and
cooperation opportunities with the island.
Throughout this week,
the US delegation has met with Cuban authorities from ministries such as
agriculture and foreign trade and foreign investment, as well as the Foreign
Ministry, while visiting institutions such as the Center for Genetic Engineering
and Biotechnology ( CIGB) and has also known the experience of new private
companies.
The objective of the
trip is to strengthen relations between their state and the island, and
"find ways to improve the lives of people in Cuba and Delaware," as
explained Thursday at a press conference by the leaders of the visiting
delegation, who qualified of "fantastic" the experience.
Although for the
moment it is an exploratory visit, the Delaware delegation appreciated the
opportunity to learn first-hand about the current situation in Cuba and, in
particular, the changes experienced in recent years in its economic
functioning.
Based on what was
seen, they recognized opportunities to increase agricultural trade with Cuba
and to collaborate in sectors such as education and research, according to the
Secretary of Agriculture, Michael Scuse, who pointed out that the potential for
bilateral exchange "is greater now than Never before".
In this sense, and in
response to a question from OnCuba on the subject, Scuse pointed out that
the emergence of private companies in Cuba "is definitely a great step
both for the government and for the Cuban people in general, and deserves to be
taken into account." in the United States” when establishing businesses
and collaborations with the island.
For his part, the
Secretary of State, Jeffrey Bullock, commented that, upon his return to his
country, they will study ways to materialize these opportunities and will
advocate for closer ties between the two countries, which experienced a notable
setback with the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House and they have not
returned to the level expected after the election of Democrat Joe Biden.
Biden and Cuba, the good and the bad… these days
In addition, Bullock
thanked the "warm and kind" reception by the Cuban authorities and
acknowledged being impressed "by how sincere and how direct the Cuban
officials were in our conversations."
“They referred to
practical issues, aimed at solving specific problems, step by step, which helps
a lot for people like me, who work at the state level, to start thinking about
how we can find a way to materialize the existing opportunities and give a next
step”, he replied to OnCuba .
In this sense, the
Delaware authorities said that with the possible exchanges and projects that
they can carry out with Cuba they hope to contribute to strengthening bilateral
relations, and expressed their hope that "sooner rather than later"
both countries can return to the "thaw" reached. in the final years
of Barack Obama's term.
"Our hope is that
eventually we can return to where we were in Obama's time," said Scuse,
who hoped that "at least" gradual steps in this direction would be
achieved and the latest sanctions imposed on the island by the Trump
government.
In this regard, he
recognized that Cuba's permanence on the list of countries considered to be
sponsors of terrorism is a serious difficulty for relations between the two
countries and also for projects that can be undertaken from the state of
Delaware, because "it does everything a bit more difficult".
He reiterated that the
biggest obstacle to strengthening bilateral ties is "political",
"the same one for 60 years", and said that "this is the barrier
that we have to try to break down."
The visit of the
Delaware delegation to Cuba takes place at a time when the island is going
through a severe economic crisis and a strong wave of migration, and after some
steps of bilateral rapprochement have been taken since last year and exchanges
have taken place between authorities of the two countries.
https://oncubanews.com/cuba-ee-uu/estado-de-delaware-busca-estrechar-sus-relaciones-con-cuba/
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