HAVANA, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Some 30 American academics are working with their Cuban counterparts to improve bilateral ties, a veteran U.S. civil rights activist said here on Monday.
"Most Americans yearn for better ties with Cuba and the Cuban people, and for the sake of having better ties, it is the people of the two countries that must work together," said Benjamin Chavis, who in his youth worked as an assistant to Martin Luther King Jr.
The U.S. government and people have much to learn from Cuba about how to achieve social welfare, said Chavis, who was in Havana for a series of talks on U.S. foreign policy organized by Cuba's International Relations Institute.
That is why "we are going to begin to work today and every day to improve relations between Cuba and the United States," he told reporters about the current state of Cuba-U.S. relations.
Chavis was accompanied by the head of U.S. affairs at Cuba's Foreign Affairs Ministry, Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, who said the thaw in ties and restoration of diplomatic relations under the previous U.S. administration showed it is possible to build a constructive bilateral agenda if the political will is there.
"As we know, today the United States government isn't willing to build peaceful and respectful ties with Cuba," said the official.
