St Vincent Herald, Fri 18 May 2001.
ROSEAU, Dominica - The governments of Dominica and Cuba have signed an agreement for social and economic cooperation.
The signing of the agreement came at the end of a Joint Commission meeting in Roseau Tuesday, which discussed a wide range of issues including health, education and culture and other areas of mutual cooperation.
Head of the Dominica delegation, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry Foreign Affairs, Irwin Larocque, said the discussions also focused on agriculture, trade, tourism and sports. "We have come to a conclusion in terms of what we agreed to, and what we intend to follow up on in the next
coming months," Larocque said.
The two sides will meet in Havana next year for further talks.
There will be the evaluation of progress with the implementation of the agreement, regulate forms of cooperation between Dominica and Cuba, define the projects to be developed in each field, approve terms of cooperation, and analyse work programmes.
Dominica is currently benefiting from Cuban assistance particularly in the areas of education and health, with scores of Cuban scholarships awarded to Dominican students to study in Cuba each year, and the allocation of doctors to serve in Dominica.
Dominica has an Honorary Consul in Cuba.
The Cuban delegation included the Deputy Minister of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, the Ambassador to Dominica, and foreign investment and international relations officials. | 