St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman will board an airplane to Cuba Thursday morning. Kriseman is traveling to the island nation with Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin, his chief of staff Kevin King and City Council Chairman Charlie Gerdes.
“I am excited about the opportunity to introduce St. Petersburg to the people of Cuba and to learn how our city and our residents can benefit from increased interaction between Cuba and America,” Kriseman said.
The trip is a sort of fact-finding mission for the administration. They plan to gather information to ensure St. Pete is in a good position to deal with Cuba as President Barack Obama continues to normalize relations.
The city officials are scheduled to return to St. Pete on Sunday. While in Cuba the group has plans to meet with the Cuban State Department, a national historian, the economics department at the University of Havana, visit an art gallery and take a bus tour of the city plaza.
Kriseman will meet with reporters Tuesday to go over the findings of his visit.
The trip is privately funded by the Alliance for Responsible Cuba Policy Foundation.
