US official Kerri Hannan visits Cuba’s foreign ministry

US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Diplomacy, Policy, Planning, and Coordination of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, Kerri Hannan, visited the Cuban Foreign Ministry on February 21 and 22, local press reported on Wednesday.

Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) disclosed on Wednesday on its website that during her stay, Hannan exchanged with Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio.

On that meeting, the deputy foreign minister reaffirmed the call of Cuban authorities to put an end “to the slander that is woven from the United States to discredit with dishonest arguments the humanitarian and solidarity work of medical collaboration” offered by Cuba to dozens of countries.

Hannan also held talks at the Cuban Foreign Ministry with representatives of the Ministries of Higher Education and Culture, the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation and the University of Havana, institutions that, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stand out for their exchange actions with US counterparts.

The source specifies that the issue of criminal sanctions in Cuba or in the United States was not part of the exchanges, according to the official records of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It details that in the meetings, held in a cordial and respectful atmosphere, the sides agreed on the importance of maintaining, expanding and diversifying institutional exchanges, as well as bilateral cooperation.

Hannan reiterated her satisfaction with the outcome of the encounters, and advocated identifying new opportunities for exchanges based on existing potentials.

That position was shared by the Cuban representatives, who leveraged the visit to stress the convenience of overcoming obstacles to trade posed by the U.S. blockade against Cuba.

According to MINREX, the website of the US Embassy in Havana attests to the collateral program conducted by Hannan during her visit to Cuba; and to the statements of an interfering nature made by the US official, which are contrary to the spirit of the exchanges for the sake of both countries.