Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves is among Heads of government of CARICOM and Cuba attending the sixth CARICOM-Cuba summit in Antigua and Barbuda today.
This meeting marks 45 years of diplomatic relations between CARICOM and Cuba, and will examine issues of regional and global importance including climate change adaptation and disaster risk management.
A memorandum of understanding will be signed between the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and Cuba’s Agency for Civil Defence.
Discussions will also review the status of the decades-old CARICOM-Cuba cooperation in commercial and economic areas.
Trade relations between the two parties were strengthened in November 2017 with the signing of the second protocol to the CARICOM-Cuba trade agreement, which expands reciprocal duty-free market access to more than 320 items including meat, fish, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, beer, rum, cement, soap and apparel.
The summit which is being co-chaired by CARICOM Chairman, Prime Minister Dr. Keith Mitchell of Grenada, and Cuban President, Raúl Castro, will conclude with the adoption of a CARICOM-Cuba joint declaration.
