Cuba is open to dialogue with the EU and prepared to sign the Cotonou Agreement provided that the EU does not impose discriminatory conditions on it, declares the Cuban Government to the ACP mission.

The official ACP mission which arrived in Cuba on Wednesday 2 August 2000 met on Thursday 3 August with President Fidel Castro and four ministers, Mr. Felipe Perez Roque (Foreign Affairs), Mr. Raul De La Nuez Ramirez (Trade), Mr. Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz (Minister of Government) and Mrs. Martha Lomas (International Cooperation and Foreign Investment).

The head of the delegation, ACP Council President, Mr. Anicet Georges Dologuele (Prime Minister of the Central African Republic) stated at the press conference in Havana on the night of Thursday 4 August after the official interviews, that the ACP Group had demonstrated its solidarity with Cuba and had obtained considerable information on the reasons for Cuba’s withdrawal of its application to sign the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement.

According to the Cuban authorities, their country had been subjected to discriminatory treatment which had never before been applied to other candidate countries. They have called for proof of the European Union’s “common position” on the question. The EU “Troïka” had stated that its visit to Cuba was a fact-finding mission after which the EU would make a decision regarding Cuba’s entry into the ACP-EU partnership. According to Cuban authorities, such a procedure had never been applied before to any other country.

The Cuban authorities confirmed, nonetheless, that they are still interested in becoming a member of the ACP Group and acceding to the Cotonou Agreement, on condition that the EU refrains from imposing any prerequisite conditions on the country. Cuba has declared its willingness to dialogue now with the Europeans who therefore now have the ball in their court.

The ACP delegation left Cuba at 5:00 p.m. local time on Friday 4 August to visit the Dominican Republic where it will pay a courtesy call on President Leonel Fernandez who will demit office in September of this year. President Fernandez is currently President of the ACP Summit.

The ACP mission to Cuba comprised the President-in-Office of the ACP Council of Ministers, Mr. Anicet Georges Dologuele (Central Africa), his predecessor, Mr. John Horne (St. Vincent and the Grenadines), the current Chairman of the ACP Committee of Ambassadors, Mr. Armand-Guy Zounguere-Sokambi, his predecessor, Mrs. Yolette Azor-Charles, the Secretary General of the ACP Group, Mr. Jean-Robert Goulongana, Mr. Max Puig (State Secretary, National Authorising Officer of the Dominican Republic), and Mr. Anthony Hilton (Jamaica’s Minister of Trade). Mr. Puig and Mr. Hilton were last minute additions to the mission.

The Prime Minister of the Central African Republic, Mr. Anicet Georges Dologuele, President-in-Office of the ACP Council of Ministers will head the ACP mission to Cuba and the Dominican Republic from 3 to 5 August 2000.

The delegation will also comprise the former ACP Council President, Mr. John Horne, Minister of Trade of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Chairman of the Committee of Ambassadors, Mr. Armand Guy Zounguere-Sokambi (Central Africa), the former Chairperson of the Committee of Ambassadors, Mrs. Yolette Azor?Charles (Haiti) and the Secretary General of the ACP Group, Mr. Jean?Robert Goulongana (Gabon).

The ACP mission to Cuba from 3 to 5 August 2000 aims to encourage political dialogueand comes in the wake of Cuba’s withdrawal of its application to be a signatory to the Cotonou Agreement.

Cuba presently has observer status within the ACP Group. .

On 5 August, the ACP delegation will pay a courtesy call on President Leonel Fernandez of the Dominican Republic before the end of his term of office. President Fernandezis the President-in-Office of the 2nd ACP Summit.

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