Havana, Jun 10 (IANS): Cuba and the US held dialogue here to discuss collaboration in fighting terrorism, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

A statement on Thursday said the talks took place in an atmosphere of respect and professionalism, with representatives from both sides agreeing on the importance of advancing cooperation against terrorism.

The Cuban delegation was comprised of officials from the Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs, the Attorney General's office and the General Customs. The US side was represented by officials from the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, as well as the US Embassy in Havana, Xinhua reported.

The meeting was a part of the steps being taken by the two countries since December 2014 in order to normalise bilateral ties, officially restored on July 20, 2015 after 54 years of political enmity.

Washington had for decades kept Havana on its blacklist of "countries sponsoring terrorism" until April 2015, when it removed Cuba from the list and hailed its positive participation in the peace talks between the Colombian government and insurgent guerrillas, hosted on the Caribbean island.