HAVANA, Cuba, CMC – Grenada Prime Minister Tillman Thomas on Thursday described his five-day visit to Cuba as fruitful, having met with President Raul Castro and other senior Cuban government officials.

“My visit has been very fruitful. We are interested in strengthening mutual cooperation with Cuba and the rest of regional countries,” Thomas said as he prepared to depart the Havana International Airport.

The Grenadian leader and his Cuban counterpart discussed several issues of mutual concern, including the global economic crisis and climate change, the latter of which Thomas described as “a scourge that threatens my country can reduce its territory and affect tourism”.

The Prime Minister, who was accompanied by Foreign Minister Peter David and other government officials, started his agenda on Sunday that included a meeting with Raul Castro, laying a wreath to Cuban National Hero Jose Marti, and visits to various sites of interest.

Earlier this week, Thomas hailed his relationship with this Spanish-speaking country as special, pointing to several areas that the two countries could partner on going forward.

“We are still able to work together to our mutual benefit, whether its health, education or in the international community in areas such as climate change,” the Grenadian leader said.

He noted that Grenada and Cuba have a long history of collaborating on major issues, pointing to Cuban assistance in the construction of Grenada’s largest economic project, the Maurice Bishop International Airport.

Thomas first visited this country as Prime Minister in 2008, during the Cuba-CARICOM Summit, held in Santiago de Cuba.