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WASHINGTON, June 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. and Cuban officials will meet in Cuba from Tuesday to Friday to promote bilateral cooperation on key issues affecting the marine environment, the U.S. State Department said Monday.
This is the first such meeting under the framework of U.S.-Cuba Joint Statement on Cooperation on Environmental Protection, the State Department said in a statement.
Discussions between the two sides will include potential collaboration on marine environmental issues such as Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing, marine species of special concern, marine debris, coral reefs, and coastal resilience, it said.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State David Balton will lead the U.S. delegation, which will include representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working on marine conservation and marine science.
The U.S. delegation will meet with Cuban government officials as well as NGOs involved in marine environmental conservation.
The Cuban government has also invited the delegation to visit the Zapata Wetlands National Park to see Cuban conservation efforts in person.
