Cuba and the US Blockade

That the Parliament recognises that the ongoing US blockade of Cuba has reportedly cost the Cuban economy billions of dollars and caused shortages in essential services; considers that the situation has been exacerbated by the Trump administration’s reported designation of Cuba as "state sponsors of terrorism"; believes that this was a politically-motivated move, which has intensified sanctions against the Cuban people in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic; welcomes the reported recent comments by Juan González, the White House Director for the Western Hemisphere, that the Biden administration is seeking to lift remittance and travel restrictions to Cuba; hopes that measures will be taken to enable Cuba to access materials to produce and deliver millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines, both to its own population and elsewhere; further hopes that the Scottish Government will establish positive engagement with Cuba to initiate joint projects, such as medical research, and encourages the Biden administration to normalise relations by reversing the reported designation of Cuba as a sponsor of terrorism and ending the blockade.