At the invitation of President Raúl Castro, the Right Honorable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, is paying his first official visit to Cuba on November 15 to 16, 2016.
In Havana, Prime Minister Trudeau met with President Raúl Castro. Building on more than 70 years of bilateral relations, they reconfirmed their commitment to strengthen the relationship by advancing priority areas of mutual interest and increasing collaboration to address regional and international issues.
Areas of collaboration include:
New Actions and Initiatives
1. Announcing that Canada will be the country of honour at the 2017 International Havana Book Fair in February 2017, a key ‘flagship’ event on the Canada 150 international calendar.
2. Collaborating on a new Canadian development cooperation project in the area of increasing food security: Strengthening Fruit Production Chains in Cuba: $6.5 million project approved on October 3, 2016, which will be implemented by UNDP and Cuba’s Ministry of Agriculture.
3. Launching an International Development Research Centre (IDRC) program in Cuba that will focus on research partnerships in agriculture, climate change and economic growth.
4. Committing to maintain regular High Level Dialogue for political consultations between both Foreign Ministries to discuss bilateral and multilateral affairs.
5. Inviting President Raúl Castro to visit Canada.
Areas of Further Bilateral Cooperation:
Development and Security Cooperation and Accountable and Inclusive Governance
1. Collaborating on inclusive and accountable governance through exchanges, sharing experiences on devolution of powers, regulations and taxation relating to Cuban business, including small and medium enterprises and parliamentary exchanges.
2. Sharing experience and deepening cooperation on issues related to diversity and pluralism in society.
Climate Change
3. Continuing to address climate change through smart agriculture and disaster risk reduction, and exploring options for supporting Cuba’s objectives for the greater use of renewable energy and clean technologies.
4. Enhancing efforts to address climate change through the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.
Gender Equality
5. Strengthening resources and results in advancing gender equality in bilateral and international efforts, and identifying areas for increased collaboration.
6. Supporting the launch of Cuba's gender equality strategy in agriculture and its implementation in cooperation projects.
Regional Safety and Security
7. Improving military-to-military cooperation with a Canadian ship visit.
8. Strengthening cooperation on regional security, including through talks on law enforcement, migration and transportation security, and review of capacity building and assistance.
9. Cooperating on a border security program through the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Customs Organization.
10. Cooperating on the development of bio-safety facilities and capabilities.
Commercial and Economic Relations
11. Sharing technical expertise on the Canadian Public-Private-Partnership model, in particular for infrastructure investments.
12. Enhancing bilateral trade and investment and innovation cooperation.