Delegates from Cuba and the United States have discussed environmental issues for two days, with special reference to the care and sustainable management of marine biodiversity.
The announced by the Cuban Ministry of Science and Technology, made today, also stated that reducing coastal vulnerability was one of the issues discussed.
Specific initiatives to work in these areas were also defined, through the exchange of scientific information and the development of joint initiatives.
According to the statement, the meeting aimed to increase cooperation in common areas of interest and to contribute to the implementation of the Joint Declaration between Cuba and the United States on environmental protection, which was signed in Washington on November 24th, 2015.
The talks, held on June 28th and 29th are the third round of talks on this issue after the restoration of relations between the two countries in December 2014.
In attendance were the US Ambassador David A. Balton, who is also the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Fisheries, and other representatives of the State Department and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the Department of Commerce of the US.
The Cuban side was headed by José Fidel Santana Nunez, vice minister of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA) and other representatives of the organization, as well as representatives of the Environment Agency and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
As part of the agenda, the US delegation also visited areas of the Cienaga de Zapata National Park, in the southwest of the island, an important component of the national system of protected areas in Cuba.
Source: Presna Latina
