Cuba, Costa Rica sign education agreement, discuss foreign relations differences

The Cuban chancellor, Bruno Rodriguez, said on Monday that his government shares similarities with Costa Rica in its policy toward Nicaragua and Venezuela, despite the fact that Costa Rica maintains a critical stance toward those nations allied with Havana.

“We dealt with these issues [Venezuela and Nicaragua], where there are many points of contact, there are substantive differences, but the existence of differences is an opportunity to deepen the dialogue,” Rodríguez told the news program Telenoticias hours after meeting with Costa Rican chancellor Manuel Ventura.

He cited among the agreements the defense of the sovereignty of Venezuela and Nicaragua, and the opposition to the use of force by external agents in those countries.

Cuba is a close ally of Managua and Caracas, while Costa Rica — along with 50 other countries — recognized the opposition and self-proclaimed president in charge of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, and has a tense and critical relationship with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.

Even so, Rodríguez stressed that he coincided with San José “in that only through dialogue there is a solution” to the crises in those countries.

He also cited the agreement in support of the so-called “Montevideo mechanism,” with the participation of European, Latin American and Caribbean countries, which defends a “Venezuelan solution” to the crisis in that country.

During Rodríguez’s visit, Cuba and Costa Rica signed a cooperation agreement on education as part of the strengthening of ties between the two countries.

The education memorandum was the most concrete result of the visit and was signed by the Costa Rican Minister of Education, Edgar Mora, and the ambassador of Cuba, Danilo Sánchez.

The agreement “will allow exchange of good educational practices, professionals in academic subjects, joint organization of conferences, as well as support actions for sustainable development, special education and talented students,” according to a statement from the Costa Rican chancellery.

Minister Ventura said that his country also intends to exchange experiences with Cuba on gender equity, migration, sustainable tourism and climate change.

“This is a magnificent opportunity to maintain an open and permanent dialogue to meet the challenges that both countries have,” Ventura said.

Rodriguez arrived in Costa Rica on Sunday and left Tuesday after meeting with Cuban diplomatic personnel in San Jose.

His visit coincides with the 10th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries.