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During his visit to Havana, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov met with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and General Raul Castro, both noting the high level of bilateral cooperation and plans to strengthen ties, according to the Cuban Communist Party's Granma newspaper.

Borisov and President Diaz-Canel, the current leader of the Cuban Communist Party and administration, discussed "economic, trade, financial and cooperative ties and prospects for their development."

Russian assistance 

Diaz-Canel praised Russia for its assistance in the fight against COVID-19 on behalf of the Cuban people and government, and conveyed a cordial greeting to his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin, according to Granma. 

En encuentro con vicepdte Gob. de Rusia, Yuri Borisov, expresé profunda gratitud por ayuda solidaria recibida de esa hermana nación. Abordamos excelente estado de relaciones políticas y perspectivas para fortalecer vínculos económicos y comerciales.https://t.co/oFepsbDTDi

— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) October 13, 2021

"Russia will continue to support Cuba, which faces the consequences of an illegal US blockade. Before the end of the year, we will send another shipment of humanitarian aid to this brother country,” Borisov stated.

Bilateral development prospects

Both sides agreed to strengthen trade agreements to extract Cuban oil reserves at the Gulf of Mexico and increase direct flights from Russia to promote tourism to the Caribbean nation.

"We are interested in Cuban production. We must allow our entrepreneurs to discover its coffee, tobacco, rum, fish, seafood, and immunological products, which have great quality," Borisov insisted.

According to several media sources, the Russian delegation at the high-level talks included Andrey Guskov, the Russian ambassador to Cuba, and Alexander Shchetinin, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Latin American Department.