75th Anniversary of Canada-Cuba Diplomatic Relations

First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba Addresses Bilateral Relations

More than 200 guests from the diplomatic corps in Ottawa, government officials and representatives of several Canadian companies, Cubans resident in Canada and friendship and solidarity organizations from Ottawa and Montreal attended a reception on March 4 at the Cuban Embassy to welcome the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Marcelino Medina González on his visit to Canada. Also in attendance was David Morrison, Foreign and Defence Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada, who spoke fondly about the good bilateral relations, the rich historical exchanges and the common interests between Cuba and Canada that bode well for the future of the ties between the two countries.

His Excellency Marcelino Medina led the Cuban delegation for the Fifth Bilateral Consultations between Cuba and Canada at Global Affairs Canada on March 5. His visit underscored the importance of the historic 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and Canada.

First Deputy Minister Medina's agenda also included a visit to Quebec City where he met with Sylvie Barcelo, Deputy Minister of International Relations, La Francophonie and the Québec-Cuba working group on March 2.

First Deputy Minister Medina (fifth from left) is received at Global Affairs Canada, March 5, 2020.

First Deputy Minister Medina (centre), Cuban Ambassador to Canada Josefina Vidal (fourth from right), Cuban Consul in Montreal Mara Bilbao (second from right) and others visit Quebec's National Assembly,
March 2, 2020.

Remarks of First Deputy Foreign Minister at Ottawa Reception

Dear Mr. David Morrison, Foreign and Defence Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister,

Dear guests,

It is an honour to be here with you on this night of celebration of the 75th anniversary of uninterrupted bilateral relations between Canada and Cuba.

We are pleased to have built strong and fruitful exchanges over these years in several sectors, in particular, in the economic-commercial area, culture and tourism.

There is a long-standing tradition of people-to-people contacts between our two countries. Canada has established itself as Cuba's main source market for tourists. For nine consecutive years, more than one million Canadian tourists have come to our country every year.

Canada is one of our main business partners in the world and is one of the largest investors in our country. Official cooperation remains active with projects in priority sectors for the country's economic and social development. Investments by major Canadian companies are found in the sectors of mining, energy, oil and gas, agri-food industry and tourism.

The good state of our bilateral relations is based on mutual respect and sovereign equality. The political dialogue at different levels and the broad exchange of visits that have taken place in the last few years have allowed us to work together and to continue developing our relations for mutual benefit and to keep a constructive understanding, even when we have different points of view on some issues of the international agenda.

Dear friends:

Cubans shall not forget that Canada was among the few countries that didn't break diplomatic relations with Cuba in the 1960s, we won't forget that Canada has been there for us promoting relations with our country, even in difficult circumstances.

We appreciate Canada's strong position regarding the blockade by the United States and the implementation of extraterritorial measures; and against the implementation of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, which has damaged our people so much.

We deeply appreciate the solidarity of the Canadian people towards our country in defence of our sovereignty. Many of the successes that our country has achieved in all these long years, would have not been possible without the support of solidarity organizations from around the globe, including the Canadian solidarity [organizations], a number of whose representatives are here.

In the context of this celebration, we reiterate our willingness to keep on working to further expand, strengthen and diversify the political dialogue and bilateral ties with the Canadian government so that we can capitalize on all the potential both our countries have.

We are certain that the Canadian government and the business community will continue to play a critical role in our country's plans for economic development.

In honour to the historic ties between our peoples and governments, I invite you to celebrate together the 75th anniversary of our relations.

Thank you very much.

This article was published in

Volume 50 Number 8 - March 14, 2020

Article Link:
75th Anniversary of Canada-Cuba Diplomatic Relations: First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba Addresses Bilateral Relations

    

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