IAEA chief visits Cuba

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog on Sunday kicked off a three-day official visit to Cuba, a local TV channel reported. During his stay, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano is scheduled to hold talks with Foreign Minister Marcelino Medina, "among other activities," NNTV said. Amano's visit "corresponds with the excellent level of relations" between the IAEA and the Caribbean nation, a founding member of the agency, government officials were quoted as saying. Cuba has cooperated with the IAEA in such fields as health, agriculture and environmental protection, officials said, adding that the country's nuclear facilities are subject to the agency's supervision. Cuba is also a member of both the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean and the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.