The Ambassador of Cuba, Pedro Luis Despaigne González, paid a visit to the headquarters of the newspaper Ghanaian Times. He was received by its Chief Editor, Mr. David Agbenu, who in his welcoming words, explained that the newspaper was founded in 1957 by the then Prime Minister, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, with the purpose of showing to the world the voice of the new country.
The Cuban Ambassador, after thanking the reception, reaffirmed the historical ties between both governments and peoples, cemented during the meeting in 1959 of the then Prime Ministers, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and the Commander in Chief, Fidel Castro. He also thanked the coverage provided by the Ghanaian Times to the recent visit of the Vice President of the State Council, Mrs. Mercedes López Acea.
The Cuban diplomat reaffirmed the historic commitment towards Ghana, expressed in the nearly 3 thousand young Ghanaians graduated in the largest of the Antilles, and in the sustained work in Ghana of the health collaborators, who have worked in the country´s ten regions. As part of the exchange, he updated the Chief Editor about the current electoral period in Cuba, which will end up on April 19th with the election of a new President of the Council of State.
The Chief Editor reaffirmed that they continue to work to preserve their role as the voice of Ghana and also noted in a complimentary manner the cooperation of Cuba with Ghana in the training of qualified personnel, which he pointed out had its high point during the years 80 and 90 of the twentieth century. He also said that the Ghanaian Times, which has a print run between 50 and 60 thousand copies, currently faces the competition of social media, which forces it to technologically update itself and in its contents. That is why he gathered news about Cuba.
Mr. Agbenu made reference to his two trips to Cuba (1997 and 1999), both accompanying the then President Jerry John Rawlings.
The meeting was also attended by the Acting Managing Director, Mr. Martin Adu-Owusu, and the News Editor, Mr. Matthew Ayinne Ayoo. For the Embassy of Cuba, the First Secretary, Julio César Sánchez was present.