Havana, September 29 (RHC)-- Cuba and Panama have begun negotiations towards a migration agreement to control the flow of migrants and fight against the trafficking in people and other related crimes.

The Cuban Foreign Ministry said in a press release that negotiations were in the framework of the 3rd Round of Cuba-Panama Migration Talks held September 27 and 28. The talks were presided over, on the Cuban side, by Deputy Director of Consular Affairs and Cubans living Abroad at the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Ulises Arranz, and on the Panamanian side by  Javier Carrillo, Chief Executive Officer of the National Migration Service at Panama's Ministry of Public Security.

At the meeting, the parties assessed the current migratory flow between Cuba and Panama, as well as the status of implementation of agreements on the issue signed by the authorities of both countries.

They also reaffirmed both governments' "determination and commitment" to undertaking "joint action" to ensure a "fair, safe and orderly" migratory flow between the two countries with full respect for the human rights of migrants.

At the meeting, both delegations insisted that Washington's arbitrary migration policy towards Cuba, namely the Cuban Adjustment Act, the so-called "dry-foot/wet-foot" policy and the "Medical Parole Program", which targets Cuban health professionals working abroad, all encourage the 'irregular and unsafe' flow of Cuban migrants into the U.S., thus causing massive loss of life and favoring also such crimes as trafficking in people, immigration fraud and the violence that affect other countries as well.