Havana, Oct 7 (Prensa Latina) The Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment of Cuba (MINCEX), Rodrigo Malmierca, met today here with the US Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker, at the headquarters of this institution.
Pritzker attended a meeting between officials of the Department of Treasury, Commerce and State of his country and representatives of various ministries and Cuban companies.
The exchange was aimed at knowing the scope and limitations of the regulations issued by the US government this year, in order to modify the implementation of main aspects, dealing with economic, financial and commercial blockade against Cuba.
By inaugurating the bilateral meeting, Malmierca labelled positively the measures taken by President Barack Obama, but he said they are still insufficient, taking into account the executive powers of the American leader to gain progress in that sense.
Malmierca added that the blockade is the main obstacle to gain progress in the process towards normalization of ties between the two neighboring nations.
We know the differences between us and the problems we have accumulated, but we share the will to move forward on the way towards the normalization, added Malmierca.
For his part, Pritzker appreciated the reception given to her delegation since its arrival to the island yesterday and described as courageous the decision of President Raul Castro, and his US counterpart, Barack Obama, to restore diplomatic relations.
She added that the today's work session will allow knowing more about the Greater Antilles and simultaneously transmitting the US criteria on how to implement the measures announced last month.
On the Cuban side was also present the Director General of the US in the Foreign Ministry, Josefina Vidal.
The Secretary of Commerce is the second member of the US president cabinet to visit Cuba in more than half a century, after the stay here of the Secretary of State, John Kerry, who presided over the official opening ceremony of the US Embassy last August 14.
The visitor and her delegation, who will return to their country on Wednesday, toured Mariel Special Development Zone, Yesterday and took interest in the possibilities of positioning and operation of the facility as a logistics center and its impact on international trade. Regarding trade, the measures keep untouchable the main obstacles for the development of ties in this area: It is still in force credit ban to Cuba, which forces the Cubans to pay cash and in advance what they buy to US companies.
Cuba and the United States restored diplomatic relations on July 20 this year and their respective Sections of Interest, which operated from September 1977, became embassies.