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 News from Around the Americas | March 2008 
Cuba Foreign Minister Says Relations with Mexico Back to Normal After Tensions
 Associated Press
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| | Mexico's Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa (L) and her Cuban counterpart Felipe Perez Roque talks before a signing of bilateral agreements at Cuba's foreign ministry in Havana March 13, 2008. Espinosa is in Cuba on an official visit to relaunch diplomatic and economic ties with the island. (Reuters/Enrique De La Osa) | | |
Havana – Cuba and Mexico declared their once-chilly relations fully restored on Thursday, and Cuba's foreign minister said he will soon deliver a formal invitation for Mexico's president to visit the island.
“Relations between Mexico and Cuba are fully normalized,” Cuban Foreign Minster Perez Roque said after meeting with his Mexican counterpart, Patricia Espinosa.
Mexican President Felipe Calderón has said he wants warmer ties with Cuba – which historically have been good but soured under his predecessor, Vicente Fox, who feuded publicly with Fidel Castro.
Under Fox, Mexico also backed a 2002 U.N. Human Rights Commission resolution condemning Cuba. The two nations temporarily withdrew their ambassadors in May 2004.
Fox left office in December 2006, and Fidel Castro stepped down last month after nearly 50 years as Cuba's No. 1 official.
Perez Roque said he will visit Mexico in September with an invitation for Calderón from new Cuban President Raul Castro.
Several top foreign dignitaries have visited Cuba since Raul Castro assumed the presidency last month, replacing his ailing 81-year-old brother Fidel. Most of the visits, including Espinosa's, were planned before the leadership change.
Perez Roque and Espinosa on Thursday signed a series of agreements to reactivate cooperation.
The pair applauded Mexico's agreement last month to restructure US$400 million (euro273 million) in Cuban debt in an effort to boost trade between their countries. |
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