Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas. File Photo

Paris, June 7 (RHC) -- Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas is on a working visit to France to strengthen bilateral relations. On Monday, he met with Emmanuel Bonne, Diplomatic Advisor to the President of the French Republic.

The Cuban Foreign Ministry website said that during the meeting, Cabrisas briefed the French diplomat on the impact of the  U.S. blockade on the Caribbean island, which was intensified to unprecedented levels during the Donald Trump administration.

In addition, the parties noted the positive state of bilateral relations, which they are willing to deepen, and highlighted the usefulness and validity of the bilateral Economic Agenda adopted in 2016 and the mechanism of the Economic-Commercial Commission that meets annually to review the progress of trade and cooperation ties between the two nations.

Cabrisas conveyed through Bonne President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez greetings to his counterpart Emmanuel Macron.

For his part, Bonne reiterated the French government's rejection of the U.S. blockade.

Mrs. Cécile Ondoa Abeng, Counselor for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Republic's Presidency, and the Cuban Ambassador to France, Elio Rodríguez Perdomo, were also present at the encounter.

While in France, Cabrisas will meet other governmental and business authorities.

Throughout their common history, France and Cuba have been weaving a relationship of cooperation and friendship. In 2012 they were boosted by political meetings at the highest level.

The visit to Cuba by former French President François Hollande in May 2015 and the visit to Paris by former President Raúl Castro in February 2016 were historic. Until then, no French or Cuban head of state had made this type of official visit.

These visits marked the beginning of a new era in bilateral relations between Cuba and the European nation.  This has materialized in the restructuring of the Cuban debt concerning France, the signing of a joint economic road map, and the extension of the competencies of the French Development Agency in Cuba.

The organization of a month of French culture in Cuba and the signing of contracts by French companies are also a sign of the activation of this close cooperation.