Brussels, April 23 (RHC) – On the second leg of a European tour, Cuba's foreign minister was in Brussels Wednesday to meet with his European Union counterpart, Federica Mogherini.

At a joint press conference after the talks, Bruno Rodriguez said the meeting had been productive. "The visit of the High Representative and Vice President Federica Mogherini to Havana marked the beginning of a new stage in bilateral ties. I feel we have made progress; we have come to a mutually respectful constructive spirit on a reciprocal basis, to a strengthening of relations and comprehensive cooperation between the European Union and Cuba," Rodriguez said.

The Cuban minister added "we have also reviewed the issues related to the negotiations of a bilateral cooperation agreement. I feel that the two announcements made confirm the progress achieved and we have committed ourselves to continue working with the same commitment and interest."

The European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the EU and Cuba have restarted the political dialogue and will hold the first meeting in June.

Mogherini stated "we have talked about an agreement of a political dialogue on cooperation, which is a topic already discussed in Havana when I was there, aiming to strengthen relations and accelerate the negotiation process. That is why we are to hold a negotiation round in June, which will initiate the process, hoping that we can finish it by the end of the year."