Published on 11 September 2015 by Cuban News Agency

cuba eu

Cuban and European diplomats announced important advancements, particularly in the chapter of trade, during the fifth round of negotiations towards a bilateral accord for political and cooperation dialog, held this week in Havana.

The two sides said they are getting closer to reach understanding practically in all issues related to the chapter on commerce and they announced a next round of talks in November to deepen discussion on political issues and consider the first part of the accord and final considerations.

Cuban deputy foreign minister Abelardo Moreno stressed the advancement about cooperation and added that they opened an detailed analysis on political dialog after having identified main issues to discuss, such as the fight on discrimination, human rights, traffic of light and small weapons.

Meanwhile, the executive director for The Americas at the European External Action Service, Christian Leffler, said that the talks were aimed at consolidating documents related to cooperation, trade and economic exchange.

Leffler said that they considered all draft documents presented and that the round of talks allowed for better mutual understanding. "With this work already done, we are now in good conditions to achieve progress in the issues relevant to political dialog in our next round," he noted.

Moreno and Leffler agreed, in separate statements, that there are different focuses on many aspects, but they are getting their positions closer during the course of negotiations. There is no disagreement, but different approaches, Moreno said.

Moreno recalled that Cuba and European countries already have trade and cooperation going, and that for a long time now many countries with the European Union have had their embassies in Cuba.