Havana, July 23 (RHC)--Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel met Monday with U.S. film actor Danny Glover, who is visiting the island as a guest at the graduation of U.S. medical students from the Latin American School of Medicine.

The Cuban Presidency website said that Glover and the Caribbean leader discussed the importance of promoting artistic exchanges between Cuba and the United States, based on existing historical and cultural ties.

Diaz-Canel expressed concern about the negative impact in this sphere resulting from the setback in bilateral ties.

The website added that the head of state also reiterated the island’s authorities’ willingness to move forward with broad sectors in the United States that favor its improvement.

Glover, who is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, was accompanied during the meeting by James Early, director of Cultural Studies and Communication at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Studies Programs at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

The famed actor was one of the voices in favor of the release of the Cuban Five, Gerardo Hernández, Fernando González, René González, Antonio Guerrero and Ramón Labañino, who were imprisoned in U.S. prisons for fighting terrorism.