Timmermans to Cuba

Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans is visiting Cuba from Monday to Tuesday “to strengthen ties.”

A release from the Foreign Ministry quotes Timmermans as saying that Cuba has started a political and economic reformation process that deserves “our” attention. The Spanish speaking Caribbean island that because of its communist rule has been sidelined by the US for the past 50 years, now allows its citizens to purchase modern cars and to travel internationally without restrictions. Timmermans said the Netherlands can assist in these positive developments.

The Minister is scheduled to meet with his Cuban counterparts at the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, as well as with writers, economists and representatives of the Catholic Church. Timmerman’s visit may well be the first by a Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs to Cuba.