Brussels, 29/01/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 28 January, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini met Cuba's Foreign Affairs Minister Bruno Rodriguez on the sidelines of the CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean states) summit in San Jose (California).
According to a press release from the Cuban ministry of foreign relations, Mogherini thanked Cuba for its active role in the dialogue for peace in Colombia and in the fight against the Ebola epidemic in Africa, during her first meeting with a representative of the Cuban government since taking up her post in November 2014. “This summit comes in a time of change for the region, with new perspectives in the Cuba-US relations”, Mogherini stated in her summit speech (see EUROPE 11221). Postponed at the request of the Cubans, the third negotiation session for an EU-Cuba cooperation agreement is due to take place on 4-5 March.
Mogherini wanted the next EU-CELAC summit (Brussels, 10-11 June) to be the opportunity for establishing a “partnership for future generations” able to deepen the two regions' relations in spheres such as promoting multilateralism and fighting poverty and climate change. The EU has always supported the “regions' integration process” through the creation of CELAC in 2011, which represents a stepping stone to “a more effective global multilateralism”. (MB)