The third round of talks between Cuban and U.S. delegations regarding civil aviation, including the establishment of regular flights between the two countries, took place from December 14-16 in Washington.
The U.S. delegation was presided by Thomas Engle, deputy assistant secretary for Transportation Affairs, while Yuri A. Gala López, director of Bilateral Affairs of the MinistryofForeign Relations’ Directorate General for the United States, led the Cuban representation.
During the meeting, the two parties reached a preliminary agreement on a Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of regular flights between Cuba and the United States, the adoption of which will be announced shortly by both governments.
With the implementation of this Memorandum, airlines from both countries will also be able to establish commercial cooperation agreements, such as code-sharing and airplane leasing contracts between the U.S. and Cuba or third countries.
The Memorandum reaffirms the two countries’ commitment to protect civil aviation against unlawful interference and reiterates their assurance to respect international agreements related to aviation security, to which both Cuba and the U.S. are party.
During the meeting, in which other issues related to civil aviation were updated, the Cuban delegation ratified its willingness to expand mutually beneficial cooperation relations in the sphere of air transportation.
. (Cubaminrex)
