Head of Ibero-American Organization Calls for Thaw With Cuba
May 21, 2007
EFE
The secretary-general of the organization of Ibero-American nations said
here Friday that he is in favor of beginning talks with Cuba and added
that a good way to start would be removing the economic embargo
Washington imposed on the island in 1962.
"I believe it really is time to begin talks and find the way to do so,
beginning with something very important, the end of the embargo,"
Enrique Iglesias told Efe in Madrid.
The veteran Uruguayan diplomat, who served for nearly two decades as
president of the Inter-American Development Bank, agreed to head the
permanent secretariat established to promote implementation of
initiatives agreed on at the annual Ibero-American Summits involving
Spain, Portugal and the nations of Latin America.
Iglesias said he was in favor of closer relations with Havana when
questioned about statements made by Organization of American States
chief Jose Miguel Insulza, who also defended talks with Cuba, a nation
that is a member of the regional forum but has been suspended from it
since 1962.
"What Insulza said makes a lot of sense," he added.
Specifically, Insulza said on February 15 in Lima that it seemed
"absurd" that most OAS countries have diplomatic relations with the
Cuban government and yet "the organization as such does not discuss or
mention that country."
Iglesias said that Cuba's case or that of any other country in the
region had not been the subject of discussion at the Inter-American
Dialogue Forum that concluded Friday in Madrid, at which more than 100
delegates from Latin America, Europe and the United States analyzed the
political, economic and commercial perspectives of the Latin American
region.
Discussions held at the forum will form the basis of the agenda for the
next Ibero-American Summit to be held in Chile and at which, for the
moment at any rate, there is little prospect of dealing with the issue
of Cuba.
According to Iglesias, "It's not on the agenda but governments are free
to propose what they want." EFE
http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=65303
May 21, 2007
EFE
The secretary-general of the organization of Ibero-American nations said
here Friday that he is in favor of beginning talks with Cuba and added
that a good way to start would be removing the economic embargo
Washington imposed on the island in 1962.
"I believe it really is time to begin talks and find the way to do so,
beginning with something very important, the end of the embargo,"
Enrique Iglesias told Efe in Madrid.
The veteran Uruguayan diplomat, who served for nearly two decades as
president of the Inter-American Development Bank, agreed to head the
permanent secretariat established to promote implementation of
initiatives agreed on at the annual Ibero-American Summits involving
Spain, Portugal and the nations of Latin America.
Iglesias said he was in favor of closer relations with Havana when
questioned about statements made by Organization of American States
chief Jose Miguel Insulza, who also defended talks with Cuba, a nation
that is a member of the regional forum but has been suspended from it
since 1962.
"What Insulza said makes a lot of sense," he added.
Specifically, Insulza said on February 15 in Lima that it seemed
"absurd" that most OAS countries have diplomatic relations with the
Cuban government and yet "the organization as such does not discuss or
mention that country."
Iglesias said that Cuba's case or that of any other country in the
region had not been the subject of discussion at the Inter-American
Dialogue Forum that concluded Friday in Madrid, at which more than 100
delegates from Latin America, Europe and the United States analyzed the
political, economic and commercial perspectives of the Latin American
region.
Discussions held at the forum will form the basis of the agenda for the
next Ibero-American Summit to be held in Chile and at which, for the
moment at any rate, there is little prospect of dealing with the issue
of Cuba.
According to Iglesias, "It's not on the agenda but governments are free
to propose what they want." EFE
http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=65303
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