MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Swire, first Foreign Office minister to visit Cuban in almost ten years
“It has been too long since a UK Minister was in Cuba, but I’m very happy to rectify that”, said Mr. Swire (Pic AFP) United Kingdom Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire has become the first UK Minister to visit Cuba in almost ten years. His three-day time in the country included meetings with senior government figures and others to discuss bilateral relations including trade and investment. He will also raise UK concerns about the human rights situation.
“It has been too long since a UK Minister was in Cuba, but I’m very happy to rectify that”, said Mr. Swire who added that “although we naturally have our differences, we work together where we can, including on the response to the Ebola epidemic, where Cuba is playing a vital international role”.
Cuba is sending hundreds of medical professionals to UK-run facilities in Sierra Leone on top of staff already in that country and in Guinea.
“I am proud that we can work together on such an important cause, and one which the UK has committed £205m to tackling. It has the potential to become a global problem and as such needs a global solution”.
Mr Swire arrived in Cuba on 29 October and leaves on Saturday. He also called on Ministers responsible for foreign affairs as well as trade, health and tourism to discuss further ways the UK can build on its work in the country. He also met young entrepreneurs and saw firsthand how the UK is supporting economic change in Cuba.
Finally Mr. Swire also meet with Mariela Castro to hear about Cuba’s work on improving the rights of its LGBT citizens, and Catholic Cardinal Jaime Ortega.
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Read all commentsvery active chappie this Swire, isn't he? Must have more stamps in his passport than your average philatelist has in his favourite album.
Nov 01st, 2014 - 10:35 am 0Further example of British 'soft power' and influence in the region.
Cuba welcomes about 2.5 milliion tourists each year. This is a vital source of foreign currency. For all the socialist tub-thumping little Raul knows he needs to keep some people sweet whilst his puppet Mas-buro is destroying Venezuela.
I don't know how to translate “manotazo de ahogado”, that means when someone is desperate because of constantly losing any possibility of having support in a region that condemns the english as colonialists. Soft power? Too soft and … which power? Decaying britannia
Nov 01st, 2014 - 12:20 pm 0I don't know how to translate your 'English'.
Nov 01st, 2014 - 12:54 pm 02/10
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