GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — Caribbean Community (Caricom) and Cuban leaders have ended their one-day summit agreeing to further strengthen their existing relationship as well as calling for an end to the decades old trade and economic embargo placed on Havana by the United States.

According to the declaration issued after the virtual seventh Caricom-Cuba summit, the leaders also rejected the imposition of unilateral coercive measures “and, in that context, call for an immediate and unconditional end of the economic, commercial and financial blockade implemented by the government of the United States of America against Cuba, and the termination of the US persecution of Cuban financial transactions, the relentlessness of which has increased”.

They have also reiterated their “firm rejection of the enforcement of extraterritorial laws and measures, such as the Helms-Burton Act, which grossly violate international law and undermine the sovereignty and interests of third parties”.

The United States embargo against Cuba prevents American businesses, and businesses with commercial activities in the United States, from conducting trade with Cuban interests.

Washington first imposed an embargo on the sale of arms to Cuba on March 14, 1958, during the Fulgencio Batista regime.

The embargo and ensuing Cuba travel restrictions are still enforced and the outgoing Donald Trump administration has reversed many of the initiatives the Obama administration had implemented in a bid to ease the tensions between the two countries.

In their Declaration, the leaders also said they were “proud” of their shared Caribbean identity and the progress of “our political and cooperative relations that have been strengthened by our arrangements, exchanges and coordination at international forums to the benefit of our peoples, and guided by the principles of solidarity and complementarity”.

“…Aware of our need to work together, particularly in the economic and environmental areas, for the sustainable development of our nations in a manner that helps us build more inclusive, just and equitable societies, and address our shared vulnerabilities as small island developing states and countries with low-lying coastal areas.”

They said they were “deeply grieved” by the loss of lives and concerned by the extensive socioeconomic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastating weather events that have worsened the multiple crises facing the global community.

They also welcomed the medical assistance provided to Caricom by Cuba in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, expressing “our will to continue to receive Cuban medical cooperation in recognition of its contribution to the well-being of the Caribbean people; in particular, its valuable human resources which were added to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic”.

The leaders agreed that the eighth Caricom-Cuba summit will be held in 2023, and the seventh Caricom-Cuba ministerial meeting will be held in Havana in June 2022.