According to the Cuban Parliament website, Esteban Lazo Hernández, President of the National Assembly of People's Power and the Council of State, held on Thursday an exchange with Ron Wyden, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.
 
During the meeting, which took place at the National Capitol, both parties stressed the importance of this visit and agreed on the willingness to expand and strengthen inter-parliamentary relations based on mutual respect.
 
They also discussed the potential for the development of collaboration in areas of common interest for both peoples.
 
Previously, the senator spoke with Ana María Mari Machado, vice-president of the Cuban Parliament, who was accompanied by Arelys Santana Bello, head of the Commission for Youth, Children and Equal Rights for Women of the National Assembly, and by Johana Odriozola Guitart, vice-minister of Economy and Planning.
 
The deputies delved into the impact of the blockade and other sanctions imposed by the US government on the Cuban population and its intensification amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as other aspects of the country's legislative activity.
 
Also present at the meeting were Marta Hernández Romero, coordinator of the permanent working commissions of the Cuban legislature, and Johana Tablada de la Torre, deputy director general of the U.S. Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
 
Ron Wyden has maintained a position in favor of normalizing relations between Cuba and his country. Last year he introduced the bill entitled the U.S.-Cuba Trade Act of 2021.