During an interview with Prensa Latina, Stimpson expressed that when he thinks about the current relations between the two countries, the same question always comes to mind, as to why this abnormal situation continues. “We are so close to Cuba!”

He commented that there are stories that connect both sides and “I realized that there are tremendous economic opportunities that are probably slipping through our hands.”

For Stimpson it is necessary “to find a way to bridge that gap, so that we can do business with each other, I think it would be win-win for all of us.”

To a question from the reporter, he stated that he knows Cuba as a tourist, that he learned from the people and culture of Cuba, and although at the moment he has no plans to travel again, he emphasized that if he returned to Havana he would do so, above all, as part of some effort in the direction of rapprochement between the two countries.

Stimpson, in office since 2013, traveled to Havana in 2016. On that occasion he referred to the great opportunities for exchanges with Cuba and called for an end to the restrictions that prevent a greater flow.

Alabama has been one of the pioneer states in trade with Cuba since the possibility opened in the early 2000s, constituting one of the main suppliers of chicken to Cuba.

Normal ties would give the possibility of developing exchanges in the field of mining and scientific research.

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