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HAVANA, June 7 (Xinhua) -- Cuba and the European Union (EU) held a second round of talks on human rights here in Havana, Cuba's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
According to a release, the talks between two delegations, led by Stavros Lambrinidis, special envoy of the EU on human rights, and Pedro Nunez, general director of multilateral affairs of Cuba's Foreign Ministry, complement the bilateral agenda after a political and cooperation agreement was reached earlier this year.
The two sides exchanged views on Monday in a "respectful and constructive" manner and discussed "several issues regarding human rights as well as civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights," said the statement.
The delegations engaged in talks with a view to opening up new spaces for opinions, deepening the knowledge of each side's realities and exploring bilateral cooperation on the issues they agreed on.
"Although there are profound differences on various issues of importance, the political will exists to talk about any topic with proper respect to the sovereignty and independence of the parts," said the release.
The Cuban delegation expressed the interest to continue the talks on the matter so it contributes to a "non-discriminatory" treatment of human rights and as part of the process of building better relations between Havana and Brussels.
The first round Cuba-EU talks on human rights took place in the Belgian capital in June of 2015.
In March, 2015, Cuba and the EU finalized a deal that began a new chapter in their political and economic ties, ending 20 years of the unilateral "Common Position" which sought to make Havana adopt a western democratic system to unlock financial aid and promote commerce.
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini witnessed the signing of the pact after two years of negotiations and agreed it will deepen the bilateral relation in numerous sectors.
The deal, which establishes an ongoing political dialogue and sets parameters for commerce and aid, must still be ratified by the governments of the 28 countries of the EU and Cuba.
The European Union has similar agreements with all other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Since 2008, Havana has signed cooperation agreements with 19 of the 28 countries of the European community to establish a new framework in its relations with the members of the EU. Enditem
