HAVANA, June 27 (Xinhua)-- Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez met with his New Zealand's counterpart Gerry Brownlee here on Tuesday for talks on cementing bilateral ties and deepening economic and trade cooperations between their two countries.
During the meeting, Rodriguez welcomed Brownlee who is on his first visit to Cuba to seek further cooperation in various areas such as biotechnology, agriculture and health.
Rodriguez thanked New Zealand for its historic position against the economic blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba for over half a century.
"We would also like to recognize and thank the support of New Zealand for allowing Cuba to become an observer nation of the Pacific Islands Cooperation Forum," Rodriguez added.
For his part, Brownlee said there are numerous areas to boost economic and trade cooperation for the two countries, vowing to work for a future agreement on agriculture and biotechnology, particularly anti-cancer products from Cuba, which could benefit New Zealand's population.
"We recognize Cuba is a unique country that takes a lead and strong stance in Latin America, a part of the world we are keen to become closer to but we need to understand more about," said Brownlee.
Cuba and New Zealand established diplomatic relations in 1999.
