Cuban President Extendes Talks with U.S. Businesspeople

Cuban President, Miguel Diaz-Canel, meets today in this city with businesspeople and executives of organizations linked to travel and air industries in the United States.

The meeting is included in the Caribbean head of government's busy agenda, in the context of his participation in the high-level segment of the 73th session period of the General Assembly of the United Nations, where he spoke on Wednesday this week.

According to the director general of the U.S. in the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, the issue to discuss by both parts is related to the human contact between Cubans and North Americans and travel limitations.

It is technically banned for a U.S. citizen to go to Cuba as a tourist, he high official reminded reporters of his country, alluding to restrictions imposed and maintained by Washington, despite the demand to eliminate them.

Díaz-Canel dialogued yesterday with businesspeople of the agricultural sector of the U.S. and highlighted this is one of the groups that defend the most relations between both countries.

Although time is short in this visit to the U.N. General Assembly, we had a lot of interest in this meeting and transfer a message of 'peace, unity, comprehension and also summons, pointed the head of State.

Despite the measures taken by the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump, we continue open to dialogue, stressed the Cuban president.

In his opinión, the retreat in bilateral links is only related to interests of a minority that, profiting from the policy, tries to put a break to approaches.

He ratified to businessmen of the agricultural sector that Cuba has a message of dialogue, while it is base don respect, without previous conditions or impositions.

He also referred to the influence that the agricultural sector may have in the demand to put an end to blockade, taking into account how that group negotiates or shows inconformity with the blockade's restrictions.

'For us it is very important that persons like yourselves can visit Cuba, talk and exchange ideas so our truth is really known', expressed Diaz-Canel to his interlocutors.

Also on Thursday, the Cuban president exchanged points of view with members of the National Council of Churches of the United States, who ratified their rejection to the blockade.

During the meeting, Diaz-Canel recognized the long tradition of friendship between the peoples of Cuba and the United States and thanked the solidarity of that ecumenical body, reflected in multitude of moments and actions.

In his fifth day in this city, the Cuban head of State also talked with the prime ministers of Vietnam and Lesotho, Motsoahae Thomas Thabane, respectively, and the Vice President of Costa Rica, Epsy Campbell.

He also had a meeting with UN General Assembly President, Maria Fernanda Espinosa where both approached the importance of strengthening South-South cooperation and the commitment to multilateralism.