Raúl carries on a busy agenda; meets with Putin

A brief exchange at the United Nations took place on Monday (Sept. 28) between Presidents Castro and the Russian leader Vladimir Putin of Russia. Here is the exchange as translated by Progreso Weekly.

VLADIMIR PUTIN: Esteemed comrade President! Dear friends!

Allow me to welcome you. Give my regards to Comandante Fidel. I hope he’s in good health.

I would like to note that relations between Cuba and Russia are developing, and that we are very pleased. We have many interesting and promising projects in energy, engineering and space, and in each of these areas we can achieve serious results. Shortly will be held a meeting of the [Cuba-Russia] intergovernmental commission.

I am very glad to see you in the framework of the United Nations General Assembly and to be able to discuss all the areas of our cooperation.

RAUL CASTRO: Let me say once again that I congratulate you on your report, which was applauded several times. I also listened to a report by the Chinese president and listened to the speech of the president of the United States. Of course, there are notable differences in these three reports.

We are happy to meet with you. I won’t take much of your time; I just wanted to greet you. Our relationship is going well and, no doubt, will continue to be further strengthened.

***

Over the weekend, President Castro continued an intense agenda of diplomatic work as he participated in U.N. events, the daily Granma reported. Below is a summary of his activities.

The president’s agenda included meetings with former U.S. President Bill Clinton; the mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio; the Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Lofven; the secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, and important U.S. businessmen.

The meeting with Clinton was an opportunity to dialogue about the relations between Cuba and the United States. The dignitaries exchanged views about events since Dec. 17, when relations were reestablished, and the issues that still remain, such as the lifting of the blockade.

[Translator’s Note: In March 1996, President Clinton signed the Helms-Burton Act, which codified the economic blockade of Cuba.]

Later, at the Cuban Mission to the U.N., Castro met for an hour with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who welcomed the president and told him he was flattered by his presence. As he had made public before, De Blasio voiced his support for the rapprochement between the two countries.

Castro thanked the mayor for his efforts to build a replica of the equestrian statue of José Martí that stands in Central Park and donate it to Cuba. The statue was sculpted by Anna Hyatt Huntington in 1959 and has stood in the New York City park since 1965.

At the United Nations, the Cuban president met with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to discuss, among other subjects, the Agenda for Development Post-2015 and the Objectives of Development for the Millennium, which have been totally fulfilled in Cuba.

While at the U.N. building, a ceremony was held to reestablish diplomatic relations between Cuba and Palau. The document was signed by Castro and President Thomas Remengesau.

Also, Castro met with his Mozambican counterpart, Filipe Nyusi, and had an informal encounter with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping.

Back at the Cuban Mission, the Cuban leader met with a group of U.S. businessmen and women, among them Tom Donohue, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; Douglas Oberhelman, president of the Caterpillar Company; Kenneth Siegel, administrator of the Starwood hotel chain; Art Torno, vice president of American Airlines, and Lee Godown, vice president of General Motors.

He also welcomed U.S. legislators who have long supported the reestablishment of diplomatic and trade relations with Cuba. Among them were Senators Patrick Leahy and Heidi Heilkamp, as well as representatives Barbara Lee, James McGovern, Thomas Emmer, Karen Bass, Gregory Meeks, Nydia Velázquez, Charles Rangel and José Serrano.

President Castro’s principal activity for Sunday was delivering a speech at the Conference on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. For a transcript of the speech, in Spanish, click here. For details on the conference itself, click here.