Havana, Dec 9 (Prensa Latina) Activities for the 32nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and CARICOM will continue Thursday with cultural galas in different Cuban universities.

A delegation of the Caribbean Community CARICOM will visit higher education center where youth from the regions are studying different specialties.

The Cuba-CARICOM meeting is aimed at strengthening more and more fruitful bilateral relations as the graduation of more than 1,200 Caribbean students in Cuban universities since 1961.

Cuba established diplomatic relations in 1972 with Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, followed by the rest of the CARICOM country members and most of Latin American nations.

CARICOM representatives held a meeting with Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque to discuss about Havana´s diplomatic exchange with the Caribbean bloc. The Cuban minister highlighted the tradition and unconditional CARICOM´s support to Cuba in different international summits and mainly the rejection to the US economic, financial and trade blockade on Cuba for more than four decades.

CARICOM was founded in 1973 as a result of 15 years of negotiations in favor in regional integration. It was created to stimulate economic cooperation in a common market in the Caribbean and strengthen political links among the member states. The bloc also promotes educational, cultural and industrial cooperation within the community of nations.

CARICOM includes Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Granada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, San Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad y Tobago and Haití.

Haiti currently lacks of support among the members of CARICOM because of the unclear circumstances around the ousting of the constitutional president Jean Bertrand Aristide, although the bloc is still helping the Haitian people.