Georgetown : Head of State, President Donald Ramotar joined other regional leaders for a historic meeting with United States (US) President Barack Obama, yesterday in Kingston, Jamaica. The Guyanese Head of State said that he joined other regional leaders in congratulating his US counterpart for his steps to improve relations with Cuba.
According to a Guyana Government press release, among issues discussed at the Caricom-USA Summit was the status of Cuba which was classified as a state sponsor of terrorism by the USA.
President Ramotar said that leaders and representatives of the 15 countries in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) also discussed competitiveness, financial aid, agricultural and technical assistance and renewable energy. The US President committed to offering US$20 million in technical assistance towards renewable energy efforts.
The topic of security, encompassing issues such as combating the illicit drug trade which affects many nations was also discussed.
Meanwhile, with respect to the issue of US Cuba relations, President Obama said that the State Department had completed its review of whether to remove Cuba from the aforementioned list of nations, but he added that he had not yet received a final recommendation and was not ready to announce a decision. “Our emphasis has been on the facts,” Mr. Obama said of considering Cuba’s removal from the State Department’s terrorism list, where it has remained for more than 30 years. Removing it would clear a major obstacle to the re-establishment of diplomatic relations, as the two former political enemies advance toward their closest ties in half a century.
The review was ordered by President Obama in December, when he and Cuban President Raúl Castro agreed to restore diplomatic ties and move toward normal relations.
The State Department looked at whether Cuba had engaged in terrorism activity in the last six months, the criteria for designating a country as a state sponsor of terrorism. The US president said that the State Department’s determination was now going through an interagency review that has not yet been finished. “There’s a process involved,” he said, adding, “I won’t make a formal announcement today about what those recommendations are until I receive them.”
In October 1960, the US imposed a financial, economic and commercial blockage on Cuba after the Spanish speaking country nationalised US owned Cuban oil refineries.
Meanwhile, leaders, and or their representatives are expected to attend the Seventh Summit of the Americas, which, for the first time, will see participation by all 35 countries in the Western Hemisphere, including Cuba, in Panama City from April 10 to 11.
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