At the meeting, which was attended by the Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, Deputy Foreign Minister Anayansi Rodriguez and the Cuban Ambassador to Italy Mirta Granda, a great number of issues of mutual interest were discussed, diplomatic sources reported.

Both sides reaffirmed the historic and stable bilateral relations between Cuba and Italy as well as the willingness to continue strengthening relations.

Italy is rated Cuba´s top-10 trading partners, holds a historic stance against the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba, and has been supporting Cuba at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) since 1995 in order to put an end to such a hostile and unilateral measure.

Mattarella emphasized in a note sent to President Díaz-Canel in April 2018 that “the historic and strong friendship relations that unite our countries are the foundation of particularly intense and dynamic bilateral relations,” a stance that still remains nowadays.

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