Havana, March 16 (RHC) -- Representatives of Cuba and the United States met in Havana on Monday as part of bilateral negotiations to reestablish bilateral diplomatic relations.

Just two weeks after the latest round of talks, which took place in Washington D.C., the delegations gathered in the Cuban capital.  The talks were led by the general director for the United States at Cuba´s Foreign Ministry, Josefina Vidal, and by the Undersecretary of State for Western Hemispheric Affairs, Roberta Jacobson.

Despite deep differences, the governments of Cuba and the United States have expressed their willingness to keep advancing the process to reestablish diplomatic relations and collaborate on issues of mutual interest.

Thus far, the two rounds of talks held in Havana, January 22, and in Washington, February 27, marked important moments on the road to materialize the political decision announced on December 17 by presidents Raul Castro and Barack Obama.

Both delegations have identified opportunities for joint work in areas of common interest with the aim of developing cooperation that benefits the two countries, the region and the world.

In this regards, they announced technical meetings on new issues, such as telecommunications, the protection of marine areas, human rights, the expansion of air services between the two countries.

The Cuban side has reiterated the importance to deal with some problems in order to pave the way for the appropriate scenario that allows the reestablishment of diplomatic relations, such as the removal of Cuba from the US list of countries sponsors of international terrorism and the need to reestablish financial services for the Cuban Interest Section in Washington.

On Monday, the two parties addressed issues related to the reestablishment of diplomatic relations in tune with an accord announced during the second round of talks in Washington.