This week the U.S. and Cuba have signed four additional agreements.[1]
On January 16 the two countries in Havana signed the U.S.-Cuba Law Enforcement Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was discussed in a prior post.
On January 18 in Havana, the U.S. and Cuba signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen cooperation in the field of maritime and aeronautical search and rescue by enhancing effectiveness and efficiency in assisting persons in distress and to act in furtherance of obligations under international law. A Cuban official noted that the accord is particularly important to conducting joint and continued efforts to find and protect people in danger, that the two countries have been collaborating on search and rescue efforts for over 20 years and that in 2014 they had established procedural and operational frameworks for emergency cases. Jeffrey DeLaurentis, the Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy, highlighted the importance of perfecting such efforts given the increase in authorized trade and the flow of travelers between both countries.
On January 18 the U.S. and Cuba joined with Mexico at the State Department in Washington, D.C. to sign a treaty to set territorial limits in contested Gulf of Mexico waters. The treaty covers the Eastern Gap of the Gulf of Mexico, an area believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits. The three countries’ overlapping claims in the Eastern Gap had created what is known as a “Doughnut Hole.” Trilateral discussions begun in mid-2016 on the maritime territorial issue were concluded by the end of the year. Because it is a treaty, for the U.S. it must be ratified by the U.S. Senate.
On January 19 in Havana the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding to help prevent the introduction and spread of quarantine pests, animal and plant disease agents through the exchange of scientific information, best practices for the prevention and control of plagues and emerging diseases, collaborative scientific projects, including the use of technology, research and surveillance, and the holding of events on specific aspects of animal and plant health. This MOU provides a specific framework for the cooperation in the field of animal and plant health, complementing the provisions of the MOU on cooperation in the field of agriculture and other related areas that was signed on March 21, 2016.
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[1] U.S. State Dep’t, United States and Cuba Sign Search and Rescue Agreement (Jan. 18, 2017); U.S. State Dep’t, United States and Cuba Sign Maritime Boundary Treaty (Jan. 18, 2017); Reuters, United States and Cuba Complete Deals as Trump Era Set to Begin, N.Y. Times (Jan. 18, 2017); Reuters, US, Mexico, Cuba Ready to Sign ‘Doughnut Hole” Deal in Gulf Waters, N.Y. Times (Jan. 18, 2017), DeYoung, U.S.-Cuba sign torrent of agreements under the inauguration wire, Wash. Post (Jan. 18, 2017); Hernandez, Cuba and U.S. sign search and rescue agreement, Granma (Jan. 18, 2017); Cuba Foreign Ministry, Cuba and United States Signed Treaty on the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf in the Eastern Polygon of the Gulf of Mexico (Jan. 18, 2017); Cuba Foreign Ministry, Cuba and the United States sign Memorandum of understanding in the field of animal and plant health (Jan. 20, 2017).