Mexico foreign secretary visits Cuba

Mexico foreign secretary visits Cuba
Published September 08, 2014 EFE

Mexican Foreign Secretary Jose Antonio Meade on Monday began a visit to
Cuba as part of a tour to promote the agenda of the Ibero-American
Summit his country is hosting later this year and to strengthen links
with the island.

His arrival was preceded by the publication of an article in Cuban
Communist Party daily Granma in which Meade confirms that strengthening
relations with Cuba is a "cornerstone of Mexico's foreign policy toward
Latin America and the Caribbean."

Meade will hold high-level meetings in Cuba to evaluate the agreements
reached in January between Cuban leader Raul Castro and Mexican
President Enrique Peña Nieto.

"On this new visit to Cuba, I'm encouraged by what we're achieving
together to fulfill the objectives set by our presidents, contributing
new content to the close relationship between our two nations, which is
fully under way ... with a clear course," the secretary says in his article.

Meade also emphasizes that Mexico "is paying very close attention" and
fully supports the process of economic reforms being pursued by the
Castro government to "update" Cuban socialism.

"There exists a growing interest in the Mexican private sector in being
part of the transformations that are taking place on the island. As a
result of this very close relationship, attractive areas for investment
in different sectors and cooperation on cultural issues have been
found," he adds.

Last May, a Mexican business mission traveled to Havana to help foster
tighter trade links and its members participated in the opening of a
ProMexico office there to promote the bilateral economic relationship.

Trade between the two countries doubled over the past decade and now
exceeds $500 million per year.

Peña Nieto's predecessor, Felipe Calderon, traveled to Cuba in April
2012, putting an end to several years of tensions between the two
countries, especially during the 2000-2006 administration of Mexican
President Vicente Fox. EFE

Source: Mexico foreign secretary visits Cuba | Fox News Latino -
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2014/09/08/mexico-foreign-secretary-visits-cuba/