Díaz-Canel congratulates Nauru on the 53rd anniversary of its independence

HAVANA, Cuba, Feb 1 (ACN) Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez sent a message of congratulations to his counterpart of Nauru, Leonel Rouwen Aingimea, on the 53rd anniversary of the independence of that country and reiterated Cuba’s willingness to continue expanding the relations of friendship and cooperation between the two nations after almost 20 years of diplomatic ties.

Nauru became independent on January 31, 1968, after dozens of years of colonial rule and a subsequent period of military occupation.

In 2010, then President Marcus Stephen paid an official visit to Cuba and met with then-President Raúl Castro. Nauru’s head of state in 2015, Baron Divavesi Waqa, also visited the Island in 2015.

Cuban medical collaboration in Nauru has been going on for more than a decade. Both nations hold common positions in the international arena, mainly in relation to climate change, its consequences for small island states, and actions for its mitigation.

Nauru, a country of only 21.3 square kilometers of territorial extension and a population of around 12,000 inhabitants, votes annually in favor of the United Nations resolution against the 60 plus year old economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on Cuba by the United States.