Belizean Foreign Minister Meets Working Agenda in Cuba

The two-day meeting, which will take place at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation in this capital, aims to reinforce the bilateral relations between Cuba and Belize.

Shoma’s working agenda on Tuesday also includes a visit to Havana’s Latin American School of Medicine, where a group of 80 Belizeans are currently studying.

Cuba and Belize established official relations on July 14, 1995 with the signing of several cooperation and migratory agreements. Both countries have also agreed to fight drug trafficking, and to reciprocally promote and protect their investments.

Some 110 Cuban healthcare workers, among them 64 doctors, are currently serving in Belize where they have saved over 58,800 lives over the last few years. Meanwhile, 586 Belizeans have recovered their sight thanks to the Operation Miracle eye-surgery project promoted by Cuba and Venezuela.

Belize, which is member state of the Non-Aligned Movement, has manifested its support for Cuba in several regional forums condemning the economic, financial and commercial blockade imposed by successive US administrations over the last four decades.

Belize is a Central American country that borders on Mexico to the northwest, Guatemala to the southeast, and on the Caribbean Sea to the east. It has an area of 22,966 square kilometers and a population of 299,800 inhabitants.

Belize got its independence from Great Britain on September 21, 1981.