Officials from Cuba and the United States held the Fourth Regulatory Dialogue this December 12-13 in Washington, which in September 2016 became a Working Group of the Cuba-U.S. Bilateral Economic Dialogue.
Evaluated during the meeting, was the scope of the new measures issued by the U.S. government to modify the application of certain aspects of the blockade against the island, which the Cuban side considered extremely limited; as well as their reduced impact on bilateral economic, trade and financial ties. The Cuban delegation emphasized the need for the blockade to be eliminated so that U.S. companies can take advantage of the potential and opportunities in Cuba and develop relations in these areas.
The meeting was chaired by Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Ileana Núñez Mordoche and the coordinator of the U.S. State Department’s Office of Cuban Affairs, Mark Wells. The Cuban delegation included directors from the ministries of Foreign Trade, Foreign Relations, and Energy and Mines, as well as the Central Bank of Cuba, while the U.S. delegation was composed of representatives from the Treasury, Commerce and State Departments.
CUBA–U.S. MEETING ON BORDER GUARDS AND COASTGUARDS
On December 12 and 13, the sixth technical meeting between the Cuban Border Guard Troops and the United States Coast Guard was held in the Cuban capital.
The meeting took place in a respectful and professional atmosphere. Both delegations stressed the usefulness of these technical meetings as a mechanism to exchange experiences and coordinate efforts to tackle common threats and challenges, such as irregular migration, trafficking in persons and drug trafficking, in accordance with the competencies of both services.
There was agreement on the importance of continuing to consolidate and expand cooperation between the Border Guard Troops and the Coast Guard.
(Cubaminrex)