Havana, Cuba.- Italy’s Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ricardo Antonio Merlo, is Friday in Havana holding a broad working program including meetings and visits.

The official is leading the European country’s delegation to the 5th Cuba-Italy Foreign Ministry Political Consultation Session, a forum scheduled for Thursday, ending this Friday.

Merlo’s agenda includes a visit to Havana’s historic center, an area declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, and a visit to Havana’s Capitol – the National Assembly of People’s Power’s institutional headquarters.

He will also participate in the opening of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and the Italian Institute for the Promotion of Foreign Trade offices in Cuba. The undersecretary was welcomed Thursday by the Vice President of the Council of Ministers of Cuba, Ricardo Cabrisas, and by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodriguez, at meetings that assessed as positive the bilateral ties and the opportunities to boost them.