Brussels, May 15 (RHC)-– The First Joint Council meeting between Cuba and the European Union is taking place May 15th in Brussels.

Taking to her Twitter account Cuba’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ana Teresita González Fraga, noted that the meeting is being chaired by EU High Representative Federica Mogherini and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.

According to González Fraga, this first meeting, “provides an opportunity to advance relations between Cuba and the regional bloc,” following on from their Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement signed in 2017.

The meeting, hosted by the European Council (EC), focuses on cooperation programs in the fields of energy, agriculture and others  in the framework of efforts to consolidate the joint bilateral framework, established on the bases of respect, equality and reciprocity.

A press release from the European Council notes that favorable conditions and opportunities exist to expand economic, trade, investment and cooperation relations, as well as the EU’s active and effective participation in Cuba’s socio-economic development plans.

According to data from the EU representation office in Havana, from 2008 through 2017, the bloc – composed of 28 countries - has financed projects on the island valued at 120 million Euros, in sectors like food security, renewable energy, exchanges between experts, and disaster preparation and response.