President of Angola Starts Official Visit to Cuba

The president of Angola, João Lourenço, started an official visit to Cuba this Sunday with the purpose of strengthening bilateral ties.

Lourenço, who was received Sunday at the José Martí International Airport by Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Anayansi Rodríguez, will pay tribute this Monday to the founding father and first president of Angola, Agostinho Neto.

By the way, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel confirmed via Twitter that he will receive his counterpart from Angola, and described his visit as ‘important’, recalling the historic ties that have united both nations for more than 40 years.

The African statesman will deliver a lecture at the University of Havana, and on the second day of his stay will visit the Center of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, a worldwide reference in research for vaccines against cancer.

He will also visit the Mariel Special Development Zone, about 60 kilometers west of Havana and will hold meetings with Angolan youths studying in the island.

Cuba and Angola have maintained ties for 40 years with collaboration in sectors such as health, construction, education, science and technology, agriculture, defense and other branches.

Official data indicates that Cuba provides Angola with more than 800 health specialists and 1,137 education workers.

At present, two thousand 180 Angolan students are being trained on the island; and to date, Cuba has graduated 7,995 professionals from that African nation.