Washington, December 5 (RHC)-- Participants in a panel on Cuba, held at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in the U.S. capital, highlighted the achievements and prestige achieved by sciences in Cuba.
During the meeting, U.S. researchers, scientists and politicians expressed interest in learning how Cuba had been able to reach its high levels of scientific development.
A press release by the Cuban Embassy in Washington, DC underlined the interest of the U.S. scientific community in the results obtained by Cuba.
Jose Ramon Cabañas, Cuba's ambassador to the U.S., said there was a long-standing history of relations between scientific institutions of the two countries, which could now take advantage of the new bilateral context.
Ambassador Cabañas said Cuba-U.S. Scientific relations have developed in spite of the limitations imposed by the U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba. He said there is willingness on both sides to step up scientific cooperation, for the benefit of the two peoples.
The panel, called "Scientific Diplomacy with Cuba: Advances and Opportunities," began with the words of Dr. Frances Colon, Acting Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State, who along with other officials and scientists commented on exchanges and experiences with Cuba, and the advantages and challenges for the future of those links.
Other presentations were in charge of Dr. Cristina Rabadan-Diehl, Director of the Office of the Americas in the Office of Global Affairs at the United States Department of Health and Human Services; Timothy Wiley, an official of the Office of Cuban Affairs of the State Department; and Fernando Bretos, Director of the Cuba Marine Research and Conservation Program, of the Ocean Foundation.
This meeting took place in the context of the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries, noted that Cuban Embassy's press release, which highlights the increasingly significant role that sciences could play in the bilateral U.S—Cuba interaction.
