Cuba to continue supporting Angolan people, said Diaz-Canel and pays tribute to Agostinho Neto

 HAVANA, Cuba, Aug 21 (ACN) Cuba will continue supporting the people and government of Angola, said the president of the Caribbean nation, Miguel Diaz-Canel, in a conversation with about 200 collaborators from different sectors working in that country.

We are here out of solidarity, the president added, and assured that as long as they need it, there will be Cuban presence, just as the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, said at the time.

In the exchange with the aid workers, held in the Angola room of the Epic Sana hotel in Luanda, Diaz-Canel recalled the historical roots of the friendship between the two nations, since the meeting between the guerrilla commander Ernesto Che Guevara and the Angolan independence fighter and first Angolan president, Agostinho Neto, in 1965.

He pointed out that the tightening of the U.S. blockade against Cuba is hitting the national economy hard and is most evident in the energy sector, supplies for agriculture, industry and the sale of products to the population.

Cuban president pointed out that in spite of this, alternatives are being sought, not only in strengthening the private and cooperative sector, but also in strengthening production at the local level and in approving public policies which, in the midst of the complexities, can provide differentiated attention to sectors of the population that must be protected.

He commented that the Government promotes the search for solutions to problems, especially through science and innovation; and without applying measures such as the increase of tariffs for essential services, which put the most vulnerable at risk.

Diaz-Canel also paid tribute to Dr. António Agostinho Neto, the founding father of that African nation.

The Presidency reported on Twitter that Diaz-Canel laid a wreath as Cuba's tribute at the Memorial named after the former Angolan president and toured the enclosure that holds the remains of the former close friend of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz.

Diaz-Canel arrived on Sunday in the Angolan city of Luanda to begin a tour of African countries including Mozambique and Namibia.

The Caribbean head of state also heads the Cuban delegation that will participate in the BRICS Summit to be held in South Africa, being the first time that Cuba is invited to participate in the dialogues of this event, and does so as president of the Group of 77 + China.