The bonds of brotherhood and cooperation between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Cuba, 45 years after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries of that bloc and the largest of the Antilles, were highlighted on Wednesday in Havana.

During a gala to commemorate the date in the Marti Theater, the Cuban Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ana Teresita Gonzalez, recalled that more than four decades of that courageous decision, the links between peoples and governments of the Caribbean and Cuba have been deepened and made more effective.

González emphasized that a sign of that friendship was the mutual support after the passage of the intense hurricanes Irma and María, which hit the Caribbean last September.

She thanked the expressions of Caribbean solidarity in the struggle for the elimination of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States on Havana for more than half a century.

The diplomat mentioned that as part of that brotherhood, Cuban collaborators provide their services in the CARICOM countries in the areas of education and health, while technical assistance projects have been carried out in the branches of the agriculture, industry, sports, biotechnology, construction and energy.

González also emphasized the exchange of experiences in the prevention and management of risks in the face of natural disasters, as well as the strengthening of air connectivity with the purpose of continuing to expand relations between peoples and the possibility of developing multi-destination tourism.

The official announced that this 45th anniversary will culminate with the celebration of the VI CARICOM-Cuba Summit, to be held next December 8 in Antigua and Barbuda, with the aim of broadening the debates and taking new agreements in order to contribute to a further development of bilateral cooperation.

Also during the evening the imprint of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro was remembered, which inspired many of the leaders and generations of the Caribbean in the fight against colonialism and independence.

Lou-Anne Burns, Ambassador of Belize in Havana, recalled the leader of the Revolution in his commitment to the improvement of Cuba and its contribution to integration among the nations located in that area.

On December 8, 1972, the newly independent Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Jamaica and Guyana decided to establish relations with Cuba, which constituted a sovereign and courageous step at a time when the United States was trying to isolate Cuba.

At present, Cuba has diplomatic representations in the 15 member states of the bloc, while all of them have embassies in Havana.

The evening was chaired by members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Party, Esteban Lazo, president of the Cuban Parliament, and Bruno Rodríguez, Minister of Foreign Affairs; in addition to Mercedes López, vice president of the Council of State and first secretary of the Party in the capital, and José Ramón Balaguer, member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Party and head of its Department of International Relations.