The visit of an AKEL delegation led by the General Secretary of the AKEL Central Committee, Stefanos Stefanou, to Cuba, which took place following an invitation by the Communist Party of Cuba, has been completed. The General Secretary was accompanied by Vera Polycarpou, Head of the International Relations and European Policy Sector.
During the official visit, a series of meetings took place in which the relationship of mutual solidarity and the desire for further deepening of cooperation and exchanges between the two parties in a way beneficial to the struggles of the peoples of Cyprus and Cuba were confirmed. In this context, in the meeting between Stefanos Stefanos and the member of the Political Bureau and Organizing Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party, Roberto Morales Ojeda, the situation in the two countries and the challenges that each Party faces in the difficult regional and international conditions were discussed.
On this basis, Stefanou and Morales signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation which, among other things, includes exchanges of views, analyses and research on political, economic and social issues based on the experiences in both countries, as well as on regional or international issues of common interest. The Memorandum also includes provision for exchanges and cooperation between mass trade union, youth and women's organisations.
In the meeting with the Head of the International Relations Department of the Cuban Communist Party, Emilio Losada, there was a great convergence in the discussion of the international situation characterized by increasing militarization, the aggression of the US and its allies, the violation of international law and the imposition of the two-measures and two-stop policies. In this complex situation at the international and regional level, the need to strengthen the joint action of the communist, left and progressive parties and to reinforce unity in their action even through the diversity of their ideological backgrounds was stressed.
The Secretary General of the ELC also had a meeting with Ana Maria Machado, Vice-President of the National Assembly of People's Power, which was also attended by Dr Marta Mesa Valencia, President of the Committee on Education, Science and Culture and President of the Friendship Group of the Cuban Parliament with the House of Representatives of Cyprus. The meeting identified the possibility of activating relations between the two Parliaments and strengthening their cooperation in international fora, such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
In the meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Anayansi Rodrigues Cameho, Stefanos Stefanou briefed on the current impasse on the Cyprus problem and the need to continue negotiations from the point where they were suspended in 2017 in Crans-Montana. The AKEL Secretary General thanked Deputy Minister Cameho for Cuba's firm and principled stance on the resolution of the Cyprus problem and its active role in the UN General Assembly.
During the meeting with the Vice President of the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, Tania Aguirre, the possibilities for the promotion and implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Cyprus and Cuban Chambers of Commerce for the development of commercial exchanges between the two countries were explored.
The programme of the visit included visits and meetings with the Cuban Institute for Friendship with Peoples, the Cuban Medical Services, the Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology and the Granma newspaper. The AKEL delegation also visited the Fidel Castro Roos Centre, which presents the life and work of the leader of the Cuban Revolution, and had a meeting with the Centre's Director Rene Gonzalez Barrio.
Finally, the AKEL delegation had the opportunity to visit sites linked to the history of the Cuban Revolution. A visit was made to Playa Girón, where the US had organised a mercenary invasion in 1962 with the aim of overthrowing Fidel Castro's government, an invasion which was successfully countered. There was also a visit to the Che Guevara monument in Santa Clara, where the remains of the hero and his comrades killed in Bolivia are buried.
The AKEL delegation's visit to Cuba took place at a time of increasing repercussions on the daily life of the Cuban people due to the illegal economic, commercial and financial blockade unilaterally imposed by the US against Cuba for over 60 years. During the visit to Cuba, the Secretary General of the AKEL Central Committee reiterated AKEL's condemnation of the illegal and criminal blockade which the international community has condemned in dozens of UN General Assembly resolutions. It also denounced the inclusion of Cuba on the list of states that support terrorism, a list unilaterally drawn up and imposed by the USA and aimed at continuing the imposition of the illegal isolation of Cuba from global economic, financial and commercial activity.
11.05.2024