Panama-Cuba
Relations in "Honeymoon"
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Panama-Cuba
Relations in "Honeymoon"
by Luis Alberto Sierra G.
Panama - The relations between Panama and
Cuba are in a "honeymoon" period, Cuban
ambassador to Panama Carlos Garcia Tragapa
said on Sunday.
The diplomatic ties between Cuba and Panama
were broken off when former Panamanian
President Mireya Moscoso reprieved four
Cubans accused of terrorism on August 2004
just before she left the post.
The bilateral relations were reestablished
almost one year after Martin Torrijos took
over as Panamanian President and kept on
improving.
On March 16, Panama and Cuba signed in
Havana an agreement on economic cooperation.
Garcia told Xinhua in an interview that the
agreement would consolidate the Panamanian
Free Zone of Colon, a Panamian port city, as
a platform to export Cuban products.
It would increase bilateral commercial
exchange, Garcia said, adding that the
two-way trade grew by around 15 times over
that of four years ago and surpassed 150
million U.S. dollars in 2008.
The Panamanian government expects the
agreement to take effect in two or three
months, after the required ratification by
the Panamanian National Assembly of Deputies
and Cuban National Assembly.
Garcia said that bilateral cooperation would
cover other fields such as education,
culture and sports.
Both countries also carry out exchanges of
experts on science and health. An
ophthalmological center is in operation in
Panama with support from Cuban experts.
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