Cuban President in Serbia as part of Europe tour

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
21 Jun 2023 08:03

The Cuban President lands in Serbia after visiting Italy.

Miguel Diaz-Canel in Santa Clara, Cuba, March 2018 (AFP)

Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, the President of Cuba, was welcomed in Serbia today after visiting Italy and the Vatican, his administration announced on Twitter.

"After visiting Italy, the president arrived in Serbia, where he has an intensive program on his schedule on Wednesday, June 21. At the Belgrade airport [named after Nikola Tesla], he was met by Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Milos Vucevic," the administration said on Twitter.

Con hermanos italianos de la solidaridad, compatriotas residentes en #Italia y nuestros diplomáticos acreditados en Roma, nos despedimos de esta ciudad que tanto impresiona por su milenaria historia y el patrimonio cultural que guarda. Grazie amici. Vamos rumbo a #Serbia. pic.twitter.com/QNgT16e7E7
— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) June 20, 2023

Yesterday, the Cuban President met with his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella, in addition to local entrepreneurs to whom he expressed Cuba's openness to strengthening economic and investment ties with Italy. The President also held a personal meeting with Pope Francis and talks with UN Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General Qu Dongyu.

The Cuban President's visit to Europe comes shortly after Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi's Latin America tour.

Last week, during his visit to Havana, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi signed 6 agreements with his Cuban counterpart Miguel Diaz-Canel in an effort to strengthen Iranian-Cuban cooperation in different fields.

The signed agreements include comprehensive cooperation in foreign relations and political consultations, agreements in the field of customs, the exchange of information, and the development of cadres, in addition to the field of communications and technology and an agreement between the ministries of justice of the two countries.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel asserted to his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, his intentions to visit Tehran before the end of this year.

The Cuban President said Iran and Cuba are living under similar circumstances created by Western unilateral sanctions, adding that strengthening relations between Havana and Tehran would help in facing the sanctions imposed on the two countries.

Similarly, the Deputy Minister of Economic Diplomacy in the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mahdi Safari, confirmed that both countries have a lot of potential for cooperation that must be identified to be developed later, pointing to his country's readiness to work with the largest of the Antilles in various projects and offer its expertise, especially in the field of technology.

On the Cuban side, the Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade, Ana Teresita Fraga, announced that the two countries are determined to work quickly to implement measures aimed at strengthening the presence of Iranian businesses in the Caribbean country and promoting joint business projects, describing this as a "qualitative shift in relations."