• Submitted by: Juana
• Havana
• United States
• Personalities
• 10 / 06 / 2016

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Doctor Jill Biden, wife of the Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, will arrive in Havana on Thursday to know more about Cuban education, health and culture, confirmed Josefina Vidal, director general of the United States Office of the island’s Foreign Ministry.
Thorough her account on Twitter, @JosefinaVidalF, the Cuban official said that Doctor Biden will stay in Cuba for an official visit for several days.
Known in her country as “the Second Lady”, the distinguished visitor has been an English language university professor for three decades and has a PhD in Pedagogy.
According to a press release by the Vice President’s office, accompanying Biden in Cuba will be Catherine Russell, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues and Evan Ryan, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.
During her stay on the island, Biden and her accompanying delegation will meet with representatives of the government to hold exchanges related to culture, education and health, and will tour places of historic interest and educational centers.
Biden collaborates with U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama in various initiatives, among them the one that seeks to improve the living conditions of war veterans and their families. 
While answering a question by ACN recently, Gustavo Machin, deputy general director for the United States Office of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, considered as positive the stay of Doctor Biden, in the context of the process towards the normalization of relations between the two countries after the reestablishment of diplomatic ties.
It will be a good opportunity to know Cuban reality, pointed out Machin. Doctor Biden will have the opportunity to see the development achieved by the Caribbean island in the spheres of education and health, in spite of restrictions imposed by the U.S. economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba.
As a proof of the fact that the U.S. economic sanctions maintain their extraterritorial essence, this year it was known that purchases, exchanges and donations of texts, scientific articles and educational documents have been notably reduced due to restrictions to publishing houses and institutions in third countries.  (acn)