Havana - Cuba and the European Union (EU) are today in a new phase of collaboration in the framework of the Agreement on Political Dialogue and Cooperation, which came into force recently, according to a source from that regional bloc.

We expect to sign an 18-million-euro financing agreement to support renewable energy with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment in the next few weeks, EU Ambassador to Cuba Alberto Navarro, from Spain, told reporters.

Also in the field of cooperation, we plan to sign an agreement next year to support sustainable and resilient agriculture, in line with the colloquium on Conservation Agriculture and Agri-Ecology being held in Havana, with participation of foreign and Cuban experts, he added.

Navarro expressed satisfaction with starting his tasks in that post with 'the pleasant news that the new Agreement on Political Dialogue and Cooperation just came into force on November 1, the same day that all 28 EU member countries voted against the U.S. blockade of Cuba, which is illegal and immoral', he stressed.

The European diplomat recalled that EU cooperation in the previous phase was resumed in 2008 and since then, some 120-130 million euros have been channeled in its different versions, some of which through the Humanitarian Office, which prevents and responds to natural catastrophes.

Now we have made a large aid payment in the context of Hurricane Irma and others that hit the Caribbean, he commented.

The programs being managed within the bilateral framework with Cuba, in the phase from now to 2020, amount to 50 billion euros, Navarro added.

We expect that Cuba can participate in a large number of regional programs that we are developing with Latin America, he stated.

Cubans and Europeans support multilateralism at the United Nations, we believe in the political solution of conflicts, in the fight against climate change, and we support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. There are many fields in which we work together, the diplomat underlined.

Answering a question by Prensa Latina on the importance of the environment issue, Navarro noted that the planet's existence is at stake.

Regarding the colloquium being held since Monday at a hotel in Havana, Navarro pointed out that conservation agriculture has a resilient nature. It is an event at which international and Cuban experts are analyzing how to use natural resources better and to have a more sustainable and conservation agriculture here.

The forum, which will close tomorrow, is sponsored by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture and the European Union.