Interview: EU-Cuba friendship entering new phase: Mogherini

European Union (EU) foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini told Xinhua in a recent interview that friendship between the EU and Cuba was entering a new phase after the two sides finalized a deal to normalize relations last Friday.

"This is an agreement which will have a positive impact on both Cuba and the EU," she said.

Mogherini said at the meeting last Friday, "we reached unprecedented agreement touching all aspects in the relation between EU and Cuba," noting the agreement covered political dialogue and cooperation in key sectors like the economy.

"In the deal, we treated issues like sustainable development, environmental protection, human rights and collaboration in international organizations," she said.

Mogherini noted the EU is the biggest foreign investor in Cuba and the second largest commercial partner.

"Our cooperation with Cuba at the regional level was very positive in the last few years. An example would be the work we did together on the peace process between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). We have every interest in fortifying this kind of collaboration," she said.

The latest agreement is subject to ratification by the governments of the EU bloc and Cuba. Once implemented, it will allow for full economic cooperation and the delivery of aid to Cuba.

"This is important because we have to structure new bilateral cooperation projects and work together on international issues," Mogherini said.

Mogherini added that beyond concepts such as blocs and spheres of influence, today the key word is collaboration. "History, also the one of Cuba, has demonstrated that dialogue and cooperation, not conflict, are able to overcome misunderstandings and reduce distances," she said.

On April 29, 2014, Cuba and the EU launched negotiations on a bilateral agreement on political dialogue and cooperation. Endit