Japanese PM says wants to deepen economic ties with Cuba
HAVANA - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Friday that his visit to Communist-ruled Cuba, the first ever by a Japanese leader, had turned a new page in bilateral relations and the two countries would now deepen their economic relationship.
Abe, who met on Thursday with Cuban President Raul Castro and his predecessor and older brother Fidel Castro, said the issue of unpaid debt had long constrained this relationship.
Yet this was no longer an obstacle, he told a news conference in Havana, as the two countries had agreed on a plan to reorganize that debt. Some will become financing for development projects that
"This visit has turned a new page in 400 years of Japan-Cuba friendship," Abe said. "I met with Raul Castro and agreed to intensify our economic cooperation".
