New York on Monday became the first state to extend a trade mission to Cuba since the United States and the Caribbean nation began a process to ease diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and members of his administration met with Cuban political and economic leaders Monday and Tuesday and toured businesses and schools in an effort to explore potential industrial and education opportunities should a longstanding trade embargo between the United States and Cuba be lifted.
“The U.S. shift in policy recognizes that engagement is far more likely to lead to change in policies we disagree with,” Cuomo said in a statement. “Our trade mission is part of that new engagement.”
Cuomo was joined by state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-the Bronx), state Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) and state Senate Independent Democratic Conference Leader and Senate Coalition co-Leader Jeff Klein (D-Westchester) on the first of five international trade missions, which includes Canada, China, Israel and Mexico.
The travel was part of Global NY, an economic initiative the Cuomo administration launched last year to expand New York-based businesses abroad.
“The new New York is committed to being open for business, and this trade mission is another example that we are no longer waiting for opportunity to come knocking — we’re going door-to-door ourselves,” Cuomo said. “We are pursuing opportunities at every turn, just as we will with our other upcoming trade missions around the world, and we will continue to show that entrepreneurial government is no longer an oxymoron.”
The state delegation on Monday had a working lunch with Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz, the Cuban minister of trade and foreign investments, and visited Cuban schools and businesses, according to Cuomo’s public schedule.
On Tuesday, state officials toured the Port of Mariel and met with Cuban First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Havana, which had initially been scheduled for Monday.
“There’s no doubt that change is in the air and that this is a very exciting time in Cuba, that normalization of relations between our respective countries is the exact right direction to go,” Cuomo said Tuesday, at the conclusion of the trade mission. “The isolation of the past has not been productive and developing a full relation with full diplomatic relations, with business relations, cultural relations, social relations will allow us to deal with the issues where we agree, that are easy, [and] also issues where we have disagreements or different perspectives, like in the area of human rights.”
“New York looks forward to the day when we can welcome all Cubans with open arms,” he added.
