Given the urgency of the situation and the risk to the lives of the sick passengers, the Cuban government has decided to allow the docking of this vessel and will adopt established sanitary measures to receive all citizens on board, in accordance with protocols established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Cuban Ministry of Public Health.

In conjunction with British authorities, arrangements have been made, once the travelers arrive, for their safe and immediate return to the United Kingdom on charter flights.

These are times of solidarity, of understanding health as a human right, of strengthening international cooperation to face our common challenges, values that are key to the humanist practices of the Revolution and of our people.

Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Havana, March 16, 2020

The U.S. official was accompanied by Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs, Charles Rivkin, U.S. Ambassador to Cuba Jeffrey DeLaurentis and other representatives from the U.S. State and Transport Departments.

During the meeting the two officials discussed a broad range of topics related to the current state of bilateral relations and the possible impact of the agreement on travel between the two countries, which can only be fully exploited once U.S. citizens are permitted to freely travel to Cuba. The Cuban delegation noted that the signing of the accord represents a positive step in the process toward the normalization of relations, which will depend on the lifting of the economic blockade, among other pending issues.

Earlier, Cuban Minister of Transport Adel Yzquierdo Rodríguez held a meeting with Foxx and part of his delegation, during which they discussed prospects for the development of ties in the sphere of air transportation and the potential for cooperation in civil aviation.
Representing Cuba in both meetings were Ministry of Foreign Relations Director General for the United States, Josefina Vidal Ferreiro; President of the Cuban Civil Aviation Institute (IACC), Colonel Alfredo Cordero Puig, as well as other Minrex and Mintrans representatives.

(Cubaminrex)