Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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686. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the expected changes the recently signed EU-Cuba Political Dialogue and Co-operation Agreement will have on Ireland's bilateral relations with Cuba ; and his plans to explore improving trade and relations with Cuba or sending a high level delegation from his Department to Cuba. [41239/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The Government warmly welcomes the conclusion of the EU-Cuba Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement, which I had the honour to sign on behalf of Ireland, along with my EU colleagues and the Cuban Minister for Foreign Affairs, in the margins of the Foreign Affairs Council on 12 December 2016. As the Deputy will be aware, this is the first bilateral agreement between the EU and Cuba. Its signature marks a further positive step forward in relations between Cuba and the EU, which have improved considerably in recent years.

The agreement itself is robust and comprehensive, consisting of three main pillars, namely Political Dialogue, Cooperation and Sector Policy Dialogue, and Trade and Trade Cooperation. The core aim of the PDCA is to open channels of dialogue and cooperation between the EU and Cuba in order to assist the modernisation of the Cuban economy and society, strengthen human rights and democracy, and work together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

I believe that improvements in the EU-Cuba relationship will in turn have helpful consequences for the Ireland-Cuba relationship. Ireland has a good relationship with Cuba and in addition to participating with him in the signing ceremony of the EU-Cuba agreement, I met my Cuban counterpart, Mr Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, in the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York last September. I took the opportunity to welcome Cuba’s positive role in the negotiation of the recent peace agreement between the Government of Colombia and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), hosting four years of talks in Havana. We also had a good discussion on taking forward our bilateral relations, including in the area of trade. In addition, there has been an increased frequency of contacts between Ireland and Cuba at official level in recent times, both directly from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Dublin and via our Embassy in Mexico which is accredited to Cuba.

My view is that the PDCA and the improved relationship between the EU and Cuba provides a solid framework and welcome opportunity to improve areas of Ireland’s bilateral relationship with Cuba which as yet remain somewhat underdeveloped, such as our trade links. I look forward to continued positive developments in the period ahead.