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(Prensa Latina) Cuba and the United States are negotiating six new cooperation agreements in sectors of mutual interest, said Cuban Foreign Ministry official Josefina Vidal after the fourth meeting of the Bilateral Commission on Friday.
The director general of the U.S. Department at the Cuban Foreign Ministry noted the accords cover law enforcement, seismic monitoring, exchange of meteorological information, protected marine areas, search and rescue operations and the response to hydrocarbon spillage in the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida.
These agreements that we are negotiating would be adopted, if possible, before the end of 2016, she noted during a Q&A session on Twitter, a virtual dialogue she had under the tag #AskCubaUS.
Vidal, who on Friday chaired the new meeting of the commission, informed that between October and December, officials from the two countries will pay high-level visits and will hold about a dozen technical meetings.
The bilateral mechanism that was activated a year ago held its fourth meeting on Friday, when both parties reviewed the results of discussions during the previous contact in May. They also analyzed the new steps to move forward in bilateral relations, which were reestablished in July 2015.
According to Vidal, once again, the Cuban delegation noted to its counterpart, headed by the joint secretary for the Western Hemisphere, Mari Carmen Aponte, the need to put an end to U.S. policies that affect rapprochement, like the economic, commercial and financial blockade and the programs aimed at causing internal changes in Cuba.