Head of Cuban parliament on official visit to Zimbabwe

 HAVANA, Cuba, Mar 3 (ACN) The President of the National Assembly of People's Power and the Council of State of Cuba, Esteban Lazo Hernandez, arrived on Sunday in Harare for an official visit to Zimbabwe.

At the Robert Mugabe International Airport, Lazo was welcomed by the leader of Parliament, Jacob Mudenda, and Cuban Ambassador Susellys Perez Mesa, Prensa Latina reported.

The visit to the African Liberation Museum, official talks with his counterpart and a ceremony dedicated to the 45th anniversary of bilateral relations, on April 20, stand out among the activities of the Caribbean country's delegation.

Lazo arrived in Zimbabwe from Namibia after attending the Memorial Service and State Funeral of the founding president and father of that nation, Sam Nujoma.

The Zimbabwean side was also represented by the heads of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the legislature and of the Parliamentary Group of Friendship with Cuba, among other MPs, and the Deputy Director for Europe and the Americas of the Foreign Ministry.

Hours earlier, at the end of the program of activities in the Republic of Namibia, the Cuban delegation held an emotional and fraternal meeting with members of the Namibia-Cuba Friendship Association.

Previously, taking advantage of his transit in the Republic of South Africa, Esteban Lazo held a meeting in Johannesburg with former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe; with Solly Mapaila, Secretary General of the Communist Party of the African nation; and with Lefika Chetty, member of the Executive Committee of the Friendship Association with Cuba in South Africa (FOCUS).

As part of his official visit, Lazo Hernandez was received by Emmerson Mnangagwa, President of Zimbabwe.

As reported by the Parliament on X, he, who is also president of the Council of State, conveyed to Mnangagwa greetings from Army General Raul Castro and Miguel Diaz-Canel, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and president of the country.

Zimbabwean president stressed on the same social network that the exchange reaffirmed the strong ties between the two countries, built on the basis of solidarity and cooperation.

The official visit to Zimbabwe takes place in the context of the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two nations.

Cuban representation is also composed of Jose Ramon Monteagudo Ruiz, member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the PCC and head of its Agri-Food Department; the Hero of the Republic of Cuba Fernando Gonzalez Llort, president of the Cuban Friendship Institute (ICAP by its Spanish acronym); as well as executives of the National Assembly and the Cuban foreign ministry.