Photo: MRE

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, was in Havana, capital of Cuba, on the 24th, on agendas in the context of the preparation of the Brazil-Caribbean Summit. On that occasion, the Brazilian chancellor met with the Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, to invite him, at the request of President Lula, to the Summit, scheduled to take place in Brasília, in June.

On his trip, Vieira also visited six countries in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and met with authorities and international organizations. He was in:

  • Trinidad and Tobago, with Minister of Foreign Affairs and CARICOM Amery Browne and Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States (AEC), Noemí Espinoza;
  • Grenada, with Chancellor Joseph Andall;
  • Barbados, with Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Chancellor Kerrie Symmonds, and the new president of the Caribbean Development Bank, Daniel Best;
  • Antigua and Barbuda, with Prime Minister Gaston Browne and Chancellor Chet Greene;
  • Jamaica, with Chancellor Kamina Johnson Smith;
  • Bahamas, with Prime Minister Philip Davis.

Vieira dealt with bilateral matters with the authorities, issued invitations to the Summit and strengthened relations with countries, always accompanied by Brazilian ambassadors.

Cuba

After traveling through six CARICOM countries in four days, minister Mauro Vieira arrived in Cuba – an observer country in the Caribbean Community.

On the island, the chancellor was accompanied by the Brazilian ambassador in Havana, Christian Vargas. They were received by President Díaz-Canel, on Friday (24). In addition to the invitation to the meeting of leaders called by Lula, the minister discussed the diversification of trade flows between countries and cooperation regarding natural disasters, as Cuba recently faced hurricanes Oscar and Rafael and an earthquake. In this sense, an invitation was also made for authorities to participate in the Climate Conference (COP30), which takes place in Brazil in November.

Díaz-Canel highlighted the meeting on his networks:

Vieira then met with Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, in an extended work meeting. On that occasion, they discussed the effects of climate change on Cuba and Caribbean countries. Rodríguez thanked the Brazilian government and people for their solidarity on the occasion of the earthquake and the passage of Hurricane Rafael through the country, at the end of 2024, the Brazilian government announced.

According to the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Viera conveyed President Lula’s message of solidarity in support of the Cuban Revolution and ratified the condemnation of the economic, commercial and financial blockade that the United States practices against the country, as well as reiterating the demand for Cuba’s exclusion from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism.

Read more: New members of BRICS, Cuba and Bolivia reinforce the Global South

Furthermore, “both ministers recognized the need to strengthen regional integration mechanisms in Latin America and the Caribbean, aimed at promoting sustainable development, cooperation and solidarity of peoples, especially within the scope of CELAC (Community of Latin American States and Caribbeans)”, highlights the note.

Brazil-Caribbean Summit

The Brazil-Caribe Summit is scheduled for June 13th, in Brasília. It will take place following the meeting of the board of governors of the Caribbean Development Bank, between the 9th and 12th of June, also in the federal capital.

Brazil chairs the Board of Governors of the Caribbean Development Bank, with a mandate that ends with the meeting.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brazil and the Caribbean have a long history of cooperation, and in 2023 Brazil’s trade flow with the countries visited by Vieira was equivalent to US$ 1 billion.

Source: vermelho.org.br



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