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Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida could visit Cuba next month, a report said on Thursday, becoming one of the highest-profile visitors to the isolated island since a thaw began between Washington and Havana.
If the visit goes ahead, Kishida is expected to call for closer ties with Cuba, where Japanese companies can invest in infrastructure projects and mineral resource development, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK said.
Kishida may make the visit in late April when he travels to the United States for a meeting on the UN nuclear non-proliferation treaty and to hold security talks with the US side there, it said.
It would make him the first Japanese foreign minister to visit the communist island, the broadcaster added.
The move comes after Washington and Havana in December announced they would set aside their Cold War enmity and renew diplomatic ties.
During his visit, Kishida may hold talks with Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez and other Cuban officials, NHK said. The two foreign ministers met in Tokyo in 2013.
Japan and Cuba have maintained diplomatic ties but their channels were limited due to the discord between Cuba and the United States, Japan’s key ally.
Asked about the reported visit, a foreign ministry official only said: “Nothing has been decided yet.”
Published by Daily Mail
The rise in the arrival of travelers was of 23.3 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, mainly due to the growth of Cayo Santa Maria pole, where more than 7 700 rooms are exploited.
Around 73 flights arrived weekly to Abel Santa María International Airport, in Santa Clara, to exceed forecasts by 6.6 percent.
The main markets were Canada and Latin American nations with passengers from Panamanian airline Copa, which started flying to this city last December, he said.
It was also remarkable the increase in visitors from Poland, with the arrival of the first flight in the history of the terminal from that European country in November of the previous year
The systematic increase in the reception of people of other nationalities also responds to the improvement of air operations.
The growth in the presence of tourists in Villa Clara corresponds to the rise of arrivals at Cuba, which received last January 371 160 passengers, 16 percent higher than the same period last year, according to the National Office of Statistics and Information.
Published by AIN
Cuba Extends Medical Collaboration to More Countries Worldwide
Cuba has signed collaboration agreements with Brazil, Qatar, Argelia, Mexico, Portugal, Saudi Arabia and African nations, announced Vice Minister of Public Health Marcia Cobas.
Cobas said that Cuba has 50,000 collaborators in 67 nations, including 32 countries which are given medical services through the Comprehensive Health Problem.
The Vice Minister said that the required demand can not be met because employees in the sector must also ensure medical coverage in the country; therefore, traveling groups are used as an alternative for a short time.
Published by Prensa Latina
The European Union and Cuba will intensify negotiations aimed at normalising ties, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini says.
Ms Mogherini hoped the two sides could sign an agreement by the end of 2015.
She was speaking after meeting President Raul Castro and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez on Tuesday in the Cuban capital, Havana.
Ms Mogherini is the highest-ranking EU official to visit communist Cuba for several years.
Thaw
Her visit is seen as another sign that the island is strengthening its ties with the West, after decades of Cold War tensions.
Published by BBC
More than ten companies linked to the tourism industry in Cuba, including cruise lines and four tour operators, some of them with presence in Panama and two in the United States have been removed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) of the US Department of the Treasury from the SDN’s list
Individuals and companies owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, targeted countries. are called “Specially Designated Nationals” or “SDNs.” Their assets are blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them.
Published by the US department of the treasury
(Cadena Agramonte) - Investments carried out in the field of tourism in the cays off the coast of northern Cuba – particularly the stretch running from Villa Clara to Camagüey- is one of the most significant nowadays in the island nation, thanks to this Camaguey province will boast nearly 20,000 hotel rooms.
Aside from the projects in the cays known as Cruz, Romano, Guajaba and Sabinal, Camaguey province is devising a construction plan which seeks to recover the already existing facilities in Santa Lucia beach resort which have been operational for several decades.
The well-known patrimonial, cultural and architectonic values of the city of Camaguey have also been taken into account to build new hotels with high standard accommodations in town, which will facilitate the coming of a greater number of foreign visitors.