ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC)— Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders and Cuba opened their sixth summit here on Friday, pledging to solidify their ongoing relations and calling on the United States to remove the decades old trade and economic embargo against Cuba.

President Raul Castro told the conference that Havana would never forget the role played by Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Guyana and Jamaica 45 years ago when these Caribbean countries established diplomatic relations with Cuba despite pressure from the United States.

“We shall never forget that resolution for it was a fundamental step in breaking the diplomatic and economic siege led around Cuba and at the same time it enabled the strengthening of our people… brought together by centuries of shared culture and neighbourhood,” said Castro, who is making his first visit to Antigua and Barbuda.

“We will never forget your constant support for the resolutions against the blockade of Cuba, nor the numerous statements of solidarity made during the general debates of the United Nations General Assembly and other international forums.

“That support is especially relevant in light of the regression costs by the actions of the new United States administration against Cuba.”

Castro said the blockade “remains the main obstacle to the social and economic development of our country and to Cuba’s economic, commercial and financial relations with the world”.

The United States embargo against Cuba is a commercial, economic, and financial one put in place on February 7, 1962. It followed the overthrow of the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1959 by Fidel Castro.

Among the highlight of the summit will be the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and Cuba’s Agency for Civil Defence which will provide opportunities for closer collaboration, especially following the devastating impact of the September 2017 hurricanes across the region, and the increased focus on climate change resilience.

The discussions here will also review the status of the decades-old CARICOM-Cuba cooperation in commercial and economic areas.

Trade relations between the two parties were strengthened in November 2017 with the signing of the second protocol to the CARICOM-Cuba Trade Agreement. The protocol expands reciprocal duty-free market access to more than 320 items including meat, fish, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, beer, rum, cement, soap and apparel.

In his address to the summit here, Castro said the CARICOM-Cuba summits have led to a more “profound relationship based on solidarity and cooperation” highlighted by the recent passage of hurricanes Irma and Maria that caused widespread devastation and death in the Lesser Antilles. He said Havana also welcomed the second bilateral trade agreement with CARICOM that comes into effect in January next year, noting that during the period 2014-16 there has been a 17 per cent increase in trade among the countries and “this year we are going at a good pace”.