Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 47: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will indicate proposals he may have for deepening cooperation between Ireland and Cuba. [20951/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will recall that I visited Cuba in February 2009. Yesterday, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Mr Bruno Rodriguez Parilla, reciprocated with a visit to Dublin. We discussed a range of bilateral and multilateral issues, including recent economic developments in both countries. We looked at the progress made in developing a structured framework for our future bilateral cooperation.

We examined progress in the implementation of the concrete proposals agreed during my visit to Havana last year, particularly in the field of the bio-sciences and informatics, as well as cultural and educational exchanges. We examined how we might increase trade and investment flows. Our discussion ranged over international developments in the Americas and in Europe, including EU-Cuba relations; exchanges on human rights issues and the reconstruction efforts in Haiti.