PRIME Minister (PM), Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips who returned to Georgetown on Monday last, held successful talks with his Cuban counterpart Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz on September 16, 2023 at the Office of the Prime Minister in Havana.

Accompanying Prime Minister Phillips to the meeting were Ambassador George Talbot, Head of the Multilateral Affairs Division of the Guyana Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, His Excellency, Halim Majeed, Guyana’s Ambassador to Cuba, and other officials.

In their conversation, the two Prime Ministers reviewed the current state of bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction with the many initiatives that are underway between the two countries, especially in the health and agricultural sectors.

Prime Minister Phillips told Prime Minister Marrero that he brought special greetings from His Excellency, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana, whose desire is to open up new avenues of cooperation between the two countries.

He said, “Guyana is now a nation of great prosperity, and our relations could only go in one direction – that of increasing cooperation and further positive development.”

PM Phillips stated that their focus is on food, energy, and climate security, and sees potential for closer ties with Cuba which is more advanced in science, technology, and innovation. Guyana’s plan was to embrace and educate itself with Cuba’s help to enhance the region. Additionally, Prime Minister Phillips mentioned the mandatory inclusion of Spanish as a second language from primary school onwards and expressed optimism about the potential contributions of Cuban educators.

The Prime Minister asserted that it was Guyana’s intent to develop and deepen its relations with Cuba. He concluded by observing that Guyana would continue to be a voice in support of Cuba “in every regional and international forum”.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Marrero referred to Cuba’s participation in the CARICOM Taskforce on Food Production and Food Security. He informed that relevant officials had visited the region and reviewed several proposals for cooperation in agriculture.

The Cuban Prime Minister noted that food production was a matter of national security for Cuba and that a law had recently been promulgated to that effect. He identified a number of challenges in that area, including climate change, drought and access to relevant inputs. He expressed profound gratitude for supplies of rice received from Guyana.

Accompanying Cuban Prime Minister Marrero to the meeting were Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Mr. Ricardo Cabrisas; Vice-Minister Ms. Josefina de la Caridad Vidal, and His Excellency, Ambassador Eugenio Martinez, Head of Latin America and the Caribbean Affairs in the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX).