Addis Ababa, November 19, 2023. The member of the Political Bureau and Vice President of the Republic of Cuba, Salvador Valdés Mesa, paid tribute to the soldiers of both nations who lost their lives in this country and laid wreaths in front of the murals of the Ethiopia-Cuba Friendship Park where the photographs and names of the 163 Cuban soldiers who fell in Ethiopia are located.
The Vice President of the Republic of Cuba held an emotional exchange with friends of solidarity, Ethiopian graduates in our country, Cuban residents and diplomatic staff of the Cuban embassy in Ethiopia.
"You are also children of Cuba, even if you were not born in it," said the member of the Political Bureau and vice president of the Republic of Cuba to the friends of solidarity in this country who gathered this Sunday afternoon at the Memorial Park to the Friendship between Ethiopia and Cuba, to pay honors to the soldiers of both nations who lost their lives on African soil.
We are very proud that here, he stressed, those who studied in Cuba recognize themselves as Ethiopians and are today "the main architects of the movement of solidarity with our country in this sister land and actively accompany our struggle against the blockade."
Deputy Mayor of Addis Ababa City Administration Jantir Abay, who paid tribute to the soldiers with the Vice President, said the Ethiopian-Cuba Friendship Park is a monument to Ethiopian and Cuban soldiers involved in defending Ethiopian sovereignty. Apart from economic and educational ties, the relationship between the two countries is marked by bloodshed. "We (ethiopians) are eternally grateful to Cuba and its people for supporting us in the defense of our sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.
(Embacuba Etiopía)