Pretoria, 18 June 2024 - The Deputy President of the Republic of Cuba, Salvador Valdés Mesa, arrived to South Africa this morning to attend the inauguration of the re-elected President of the Republic of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa.
The Cuban leader was received at Johannesburg's Oliver R. Tambo International Airport by the minister of Basic Education, Ms Angie Motshekga and Ambassador Msoliza Bona, chief director for the Americas at the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO).
Valdés Mesa is leading an official delegation that also includes Dr. Tania Margarita Cruz Hernández, First Deputy Minister of Public Health; Anayansi Rodríguez Camejo, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Luis Amorós Núñez, Director for Sub-Saharan Africa at the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During his stay in South Africa, the Vice President is expected to hold meetings with Cuban workers in the country, resident nationals, as well as political figures in South Africa.
The visit also takes place in the context of 30 years of bilateral diplomatic relations between the two countries, a period during which relations between Cuba and South Africa have constituted a successful example of South-South cooperation that has had a direct impact on the peoples of both nations, deepening their mutual appreciation and respect.
(Cuban Embassy in South Africa)