Dr. Jill Biden will accompany senior State Department officials to Cuba next week to meet with government officials and “engage in a diverse range of Cubans on topics related to culture, education and health,” the White House said Tuesday.
The trip will take place Oct. 6-9 and the U.S. delegation will visit Havana and Camaguey. Biden will travel with two State Department officials: Catherine Russell, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues, and Evan Ryan, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for education and cultural affairs.
Following their travel to Cuba, Biden and Russell will visit the Dominican Republic from Oct. 9-10, where they will “engage government and civil society partners on issues related to economic empowerment and education opportunities for girls,” the White House said.
President Obama became the first U.S. president to travel to the communist country in 88 years when he visited there in March. The historic visit followed his December, 2014 announcement of a diplomatic thaw with the island nation.
Since that rapprochement began, several U.S. delegations have made the short trip to Cuba, and the Obama administration has eased restrictions on travel there. Cruise lines began direct routes between the U.S. and Cuba earlier this year, and this fall U.S. commercial flights began between the two countries.
