U.S.-Cuban Relations Focus of Seminar

CONTACT: Dana Durbin

PHONE: (713)
831-4797

E-MAIL: ddurbin@rice.edu

U.S.-CUBAN RELATIONS FOCUS OF SEMINAR

HOUSTON, Dec. 15, 1998 — Rice’s James A. Baker III Institute
for Public Policy and the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) are sponsoring a
seminar on “U.S.-Cuban Relations in the 21st Century” at 6 p.m. Dec. 17 at Baker
Hall.

The seminar is an extension of the CFR task force examining
United States’ policy toward Cuba in the upcoming century. The session will
bring together members of the Council of Foreign Relations and members of the
Houston community associated with the Baker Institute for a discussion on the
task force’s draft report. Recommendations based on the task force discussions
are expected to be released early next year.

“It is important to address the prospects of U.S.-Cuban
relations as we enter the new century,” said Baker Institute Director Edward
Djerejian. “Key issues need to be discussed and debated, such as how the U.S.
can support democratic change in Cuba and how contacts between the U.S. and
Cuban citizens can be increased to provide a framework of interaction for future
relations. We hope this forum will provide an opportunity to look ahead on how
the U.S. deals with one of the most sensitive issues in U.S. relations in the
hemisphere.”

Members of the CFR task force participating in the event
include Dan Fisk, formerly the staff member on the U.S. Senate Committee on
Foreign Relations responsible for Western Hemisphere and international narcotics
policies and a member of the board of directors of the Institute for U.S.-Cuba
Relations, and Walter Mead, a CFR senior fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy whose
area of expertise includes Cuba.

The Council on Foreign Relations is a national nonprofit,
nonpartisan organization dedicated to promoting the understanding of
international affairs through the free and civil exchange of ideas. Task forces
sponsored by the CFR aim to achieve a consensus among a diverse group of
participants on issues of current and critical importance to U.S. foreign
policy. The Baker Institute and the CFR have sponsored a number of joint
projects over the last three years on issues including the role of the United
Nations and U.S. defense policy.

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