Pretoria, 27 February 2024 - The member of the Political Bureau of the Party's Central Committee Esteban Lazo Hernández, speaker of the National Assembly of People's Power and the Council of State, held several meetings with important figures in South African politics during his visit to the country.
Lazo was received by former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe in his office in Johannesburg. They agreed on the will to continue consolidating bilateral relations, reviewed episodes of the common history of our peoples, which goes back long before the establishment of diplomatic relations, and highlighted the significance of the victory over apartheid, not only for South Africa, but for the whole world. Furthermore, they stressed that the legacy of deep friendship between Fidel Castro and Nelson Mandela constitutes the best historical reference to move forward in strengthening cooperation in areas of common interest for the benefit of our peoples.
Previously, he also agreed on the common will to expand and strengthen inter-parliamentary ties in a fruitful exchange with his South African counterpart, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, who ratified her country's support for the Cuban Revolution.
He also held a fruitful meeting with Solly Mapaila,General Secretary of the South African Communist Party, and Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini Zuma, Minister of the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, during which the strength of the friendship between Cuba and South Africa was noticeable.
The climax of the brief stay in South Africa was the tribute paid by the Cuban parliamentarian in Freedom Park to the more than two thousand Cubans who fell in Africa in the struggle for freedom and independence of the nations of the continent.
On the occasion, the President of the Cuban Council of State laid a wreath to those fellow Cubans who gave their lives in internationalist struggles, in accordance with the words of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro: "There was no just cause in Africa that did not have the support of our people".
(Cuban Embassy in South Africa)