Washington, DC - The United States and Cuba will hold their biannual Migration Talks on November 30 at the U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary Alex Lee will lead the discussions for the United States; Director General Josefina Vidal of the U.S. Division of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs will lead the Cuban delegation.

The delegations will discuss continuing implementation of the U.S.-Cuba Migration Accords, which provide for the safe, orderly, and legal migration of Cubans to the United States. The last Migration Talks were held in Havana in January 2015; the July session was postponed due to the re-opening of the U.S. and Cuban embassies in July and August. The reestablishment of diplomatic relations, the re-opening of embassies, and the much longer process of normalizing relations with Cuba have not changed U.S. policy on Cuban migration.

Additionally, officials from the U.S. and Cuban governments will meet for the second Counter-Narcotics Dialogue in Washington, D.C., on December 1. Representatives from the U.S. Department of State, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Coast Guard will meet with representatives of the Cuban government to discuss ways to stop the illegal flow of narcotics to and from Cuba and the United States, and explore ways the two countries can cooperate on this issue.