Mr. Fernando González Llort:

Good morning. It is a pleasure for me to be here. I am head of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples. I was also recently elected as a member of the Cuban Parliament, which began its ninth legislative term in April, selecting a new Council of State and new ministers. The Council of State is led for the first time by a member who was not traditionally part of the Cuban revolution and military. We know there was a lot of speculation outside of Cuba about this fact, but for us it was a natural process. Our colleague, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has made his career in the party and in government and has the trust of the party and of the Cuban people. There was a generation that traditionally led the Cuban revolution. Our colleague, Miguel Díaz-Canel, is the progression of this. Women comprise 53% of the Parliament. The Council of State, apart from the president and first vice president, has five other vice presidents, three of whom are women. Of these three women, two are black women. It is a Parliament that represents all areas of Cuban society and is constituted of parliamentary groups of solidarity. We hope we can establish links between this committee, other Irish parliamentary committees and European committees to strengthen relations between our countries and to understand the experiences of both countries.

Our Parliament is also involved in the process of reformation of the constitution, particularly in respect of the realities of the current Cuban economy. Our country has been involved in a modernisation of its economic model in recent years, with new forms of economic activities, including private companies and co-operatives. This requires fundamental change to the Cuban constitution, which will be a complex process. We must also pass this on to the people because all changes in Cuba must be voted on by the people.

The constitutional process that emerges from this process will be put to a popular vote.

There is an accord between Cuba and the European Union. It still needs to be ratified by the Irish Parliament. We hope the Irish Parliament will ratify the agreement between the European Union and Cuba.

That is the end of my introduction and I welcome any questions.