Havana government and New Orleans authorities sign memorandum of understanding

Contramaestre, Nov. 15.- Paradoxically, while the US government tighten the economic blockade against Cuba, the peoples of both nations strengthen their friendship.

This is the case of the memorandum of understanding signed by the Provincial Assembly of People’s Power in Havana and authorities in New Orleans, a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, which strengthens the ties of cooperation in the framework of the celebrations of the Cuba capital’s 500th anniversary.

The document proposes cooperation in areas such as culture, health, education, economy, tourism, agriculture and trade between the two cities, which also provide for the exchange of experiences in disaster management, climate change and emergency preparedness.

The agreement was signed by Félix Mejías Ruíz, director of International Relations and Collaboration of the Provincial Administration Council of Havana, and Arthur C. Walton, director of Intergovernmental Relations of the city of New Orleans.

Reinaldo García Zapata, president of the Provincial Assembly of People’s Power in Havana, thanked in the name of the capital for the presence of the North American authorities and affirmed that the memorandum is the beginning of a long path of exchange and solidarity between the two regions.

Rosine Pema Sanga, director of International Relations for New Orleans, told reporters that the ties were strengthened in May of this year after the visit to Cuba of the city’s mayor, LaToya Cantrell.

The public servant, elected in 2018 and the first woman to be mayor of the city in 300 years, developed a program of activities on that occasion that allowed her to develop business opportunities and establish port relations.

Pema Sanga pointed out that the agreement signed today expresses the desire for cooperation and it means a new beginning to strengthen relations.

Carlos Fernández de Cossío, director general for the United States at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was also present at the event. The authorities of the capital handed over the book of unpublished images, Noble Havana, to the mayor’s office.

New Orleans, founded more than 300 years ago, is one of the most important cultural centers in the United States and it has the sixth largest port in the northern nation by volume of cargo handled.

(With information from ACN in Spanish)

Written by Radio Grito de Baire