Yahoo – AFP, Maria Carmona, February 1, 2016
Paris (AFP) - Cuba's President Raul Castro began an official state visit to France on Monday, his first ever to Europe, which is being seen as a key step in rebuilding his island nation's ties with the West.
Cuba's President Raul Castro (right) attends a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on February 1, 2016 (AFP Photo/Jacky Naegelen) |
Paris (AFP) - Cuba's President Raul Castro began an official state visit to France on Monday, his first ever to Europe, which is being seen as a key step in rebuilding his island nation's ties with the West.
The Cuban
leader was welcomed under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris before being driven down
a virtually deserted Champs-Elysees avenue, decked out in Cuban flags.
Cuban
President Raul Castro (left)
pictured with French President Francois
Hollande
in Havana on May 12, 2015
(AFP Photo/Yamil Lage)
|
Castro, 84,
is on his first official trip to the European Union since taking over from his
elder brother Fidel in 2006, and spent the weekend in the French capital on a
private visit.
France has
led the way in welcoming Cuba back into the diplomatic fold since it restored
relations last year with the United States after they were broken off for more
than half a century.
French
President Francois Hollande, who was to hold talks with Castro later Monday,
has described the visit as "a new stage in the strengthening of relations
between the two countries".
It builds
on Hollande's own state visit to Cuba last May, the first by a head of state
from the West in more than half a century.
Castro is
the second former pariah to be welcomed to Paris in a matter of days, after
Hollande hosted Iranian President Hassan Rouhani last week.
"This
visit is important for Cuba's image," said Eduardo Perera, an
international relations expert at Havana University.
Cuba's
President Raul Castro is on his first official trip to the European Union
since
taking over from his elder brother Fidel in 2006 (AFP Photo/Jacky Naegelen)
|
"It
will undeniably make Cuba shine on the international stage."
Havana
hopes the visit will allow Cuba to "widen and diversify its relations with
France in all possible areas -- politics, economics, trade, finance,
investment, culture and cooperation," said Rogelio Sierra, Cuban deputy
foreign minister.
Although
Washington has yet to lift its trade embargo on Cuba, US and European
businesses are jockeying for a place in the market as the island's economy
gradually opens up.
Hollande
urged an end to the blockade, which was imposed in 1962, on his Havana visit.
Trade
delegations have been flocking to Cuba, hoping to cash in on its highly trained
workforce and natural assets such as its sun-drenched Caribbean beaches, a draw
for tourists.
Cuba,
meanwhile, needs to tap new sources of income as its main ally and financial
backer, Venezuela, is mired in economic and political crisis.
Trade
between the two countries currently adds up to a modest $195 million (180
million euros), which is "not in line with our ambitions," France's
minister of state for foreign trade Matthias Fekl told L'Humanite newspaper.
US and
European businesses are jockeying for a place in the market as
Cuba's economy
gradually opens up (AFP Photo/Yamil Lage)
|
Debt
write-off
The French
trip is the first by a Cuban head of state since Fidel Castro visited then
president Francois Mitterrand in 1995.
Castro will
also attend a state dinner before meeting various French officials on Tuesday.
France
recently engineered an agreement among the Paris Club of international
creditors to write off $8.5 billion of Cuba's debt.
It could
now agree to further debt relief, potentially widening Cuba's access to
international financial markets.
France is
also taking a leading role in strengthening Cuba's political ties with Europe
as a whole.
Human
rights remains a sensitive issue, with international authorities accusing the
Castros of repressing and harassing their political opponents.
A
diplomatic source in Paris said human rights "will be discussed"
during the talks. Hollande faced criticism from rights groups after meeting
with Fidel Castro last year.
There were
also demonstrations against Rouhani's visit last week, although Hollande hailed
a "new relationship" after sealing a slew of lucrative trade deals
drawn up after nuclear sanctions on Iran were lifted.
French
President Francois Hollande (L) shakes hands with Cuban President
Raul Castro
upon his arrival on February 1, 2016 at the Elysee Presidential
Palace in Paris
(AFP Photo/Stephane de Sakutin)
|
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