Havana, April 18 (RHC)-- The Cuban Foreign Ministry (MINREX) issued a statement Wednesday, in which it assured Canada that Cuba is a safe country for Cubans, for diplomats from around the world and for the nearly five million foreign visitors who choose our country to spend their holidays every year.

Wednesday's statement was in response to the announced decision by the Canadian government to designate its Embassy in Havana a mission without accompanying relatives, as a result, as has been stated, of the symptoms of health impairment reported by some Canadian diplomats in 2017.

The MINREX statement reads: “Cuba ratifies that, after a rigorous investigation carried out by a highly qualified group of experts, the slightest evidence has not been found to explain the suffering reported by Canadian diplomats, nor any indication that an attack or incident of any kind has occurred in Cuban territory, or that the symptoms reported are associated with acoustic or other actions carried out by one person or group of people against others.”

It notes that in announcing their decision, the Canadian government admitted that there have been no reports of any new incidents for more than six months, the cause of the reported incident remains unknown, there is no evidence to suggest that Canadian travelers to Cuba are at risk and environmental studies do not point to anything that can be identified as a cause, all of which, it says, coincides with the observations of the Cuban experts.

Upon stating that the Cuban government respects the decision adopted by the government of Canada, the Cuban foreign ministry says it considers it lacking in justification. 

It ratifies with all responsibility that Cuba is a safe, stable and healthy country, for its inhabitants and for the almost five million foreigners who visit us every year, among them more than one million Canadians, a country where the protection of diplomatic personnel from all over the world is guaranteed.

The Foreign Ministry statement concludes by affirming that Cuba will continue to work constructively with the Government of Canada, as it has done up to now, in close communication through the diplomatic channel, through cooperation among the relevant agencies of the application of the Law and with the support of experts of the highest level in the purpose to find conclusive explanations about the reported illnesses. To this end, it has reiterated the invitation to medical specialists from Cuba and Canada to exchange information on the basis of the most rigorous respect for the personal privacy of the people affected.