In the morning of Friday, December 9th, 2016, the official ceremony of reopening of the new headquarters was held by the diplomatic mission of Cuba in Liberia. On behalf of the Liberian side the event was chaired by Mr. Sylvester Grigsby, Minister for Presidency Affairs, was also accompanied by Mr. Conmany Wesseh, Senator and great friend of Cuba. Other members of the presidency were Mr. El Hadj Abdoulaye Doré, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Liberia, and Mr. Farid Zarif, Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Liberia. On the Cuban side, the event was chaired by Ambassador Gerardo Peñalver Portal, Director General of Bilateral Affairs of the Cuban Foreign Ministry and Yordenis Despaigne Vera, Chargé d'Affaires of Cuba in Liberia.
Among the guests were representatives of the Liberian Chancellery, Liberian government officials, members of the diplomatic corps and international organizations accredited in Liberia, graduates of Cuba and members of the Liberia-Cuba Friendship Association.
In his words for the occasion, Mr. Sylvester Grigsby, who visited Cuba in the 1970s, in the framework of the NAM Summit held in Havana, highlighted the presence of Cuba in Africa during the independence process Africans and in Liberia during the fight against the Ebola outbreak. He reiterated his condolences for the recent death of Commander Fidel Castro Ruz and considered as an important step towards the strengthening of relations between both countries the reestablishment of the diplomatic headquarters in the country.
For his part, Ambassador Gerardo Peñalver highlighted the permanent accompaniment of Cuba to African peoples and governments as a principle of Cuban foreign policy. He also emphasized Fidel's historic leadership and Raúl's immediate decision to help the Liberian people as elements that have allowed the reopening of the Cuban diplomatic mission on Liberian soil. Finally, he thanked Liberia for its continued support for Cuba in the struggle for the lifting of the blockade on the United Nations and African Union stages as well as the many demonstrations of solidarity received and the messages of condolences expressed by the death of Commander Fidel, mostly the condolence message from President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to President Raul Castro Ruz.
The ceremony concluded with the hoisting of the Cuban flag, in charge of the Charge d'Affairs of Cuba in Liberia, Yordenis Despaigne Vera.