Cuba and the Eurpean Union Monday signed in Brussels their first cooperation agreement, which will be from now on the legal basis of the link between the island and the 28 EU countries.
Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond became on Thursday the first British Foreign Secretary to visit Cuba since 1959. In a series of high-level meetings, the Foreign Secretary will call on his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodríguez and other government leaders to discuss the recent social and economic changes in Cuba, human rights, trade and investment, and the fight against global health threats such as the Zika virus.
United States on Tuesday voted against a U.N. resolution condemning its embargo on Cuba, even though President Barack Obama has called on Congress to lift the trade restrictions. The vote was the first since the U.S. and Cuban leaders agreed to restore diplomatic ties last December, and the U.S. had considered taking the unprecedented step of abstaining.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday called the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba a new beginning but said many differences remain between the two nations and warned that the full normalization of ties will be a long process. He spoke hours after ceremonies were held in Havana and Washington to mark the restoration of ties after more than five decades of hostility.
Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo arrived in the Cuban capital on Monday heading a large delegation of business people interested in learning firsthand the Cuban reality and making contacts for future business endeavors. Cuomo was welcomed at the José Martí International Airport by Josefina Vidal, head of the USA desk at the Cuban Foreign Ministry.
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has announced she will visit Cuba later this month. Ms Mogherini said Cuba was facing a very interesting period and the EU wanted to build on the momentum to “take the relationship forward”.
The United Nations General Assembly for the 21st time on Tuesday condemned the economic and trade embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba, a policy that has been in place for over half a century. 188 countries out of 193 voted against the restrictions imposed by Washington against Cuba, which date back to 1962, three years after Fidel Castro took power in a revolution.
Cuba said it was unacceptable that it will not be invited to an upcoming hemispheric summit in Colombia and blamed the United States for insisting that Cuba be excluded.
The UN General Assembly called on Tuesday for the 20th straight year on the United States to lift its trade embargo against Cuba, as the communist-run island dismissed as fraudulent US moves to ease some restrictions.