Borrell visits Cuba for bilateral dialogue and to confirm visit of the Royal Family

23-10-2019

Source: Flickr

On Wednesday, the 16^th of October 2019, the President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermudez, received Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Josep Borrell Fontelles. The official reason for the trip were the high-level political consultations with Borrell's Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodríguez, a bilateral mechanism agreed a year ago when head of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, visited the island. The president and the visiting minister discussed the relations between the two nations, which were described by the parties as "positive" and "based on historical, family and cultural ties."

Cuba and Spain have marked a rapprochement in their bilateral ties that crystallized in the visit to Havana of the Spanish president in November 2018. The Iberian country is the third largest trading partner in Cuba and the leading partner in Europe, with an important presence of Spanish companies on the island, especially in the tourism sector.

At the press conference, Rodríguez thanked the Spanish Government for its "firm and permanent" rejection of the U.S. economic embargo on Cuba, as well as its opposition to the implementation of Title III and IV of the Helms-Burton Act. Rodríguez continued to reiterate the countries’ important economic, trade, and investment relations, and restated their shared willingness to continue to deepen cooperation in sectors such as renewable energy, the agro-food sector and tourism.

In addition, Borrell took advantage of the visit to confirm that the royal family will travel to Cuba for the celebration of the city's 500th anniversary, just after the general election is held on November 10. If it occurs, it will be a historic event, as it will be the first state trip of a king from Spain to Cuba, which is also the only Ibero-American country in which the current monarch, Felipe VI, has not been yet.