India and Cuba reaffirm solidarity and cooperation ties

HAVANA, Cuba, November 11 (ACN) India and Cuba signed a MoU in Havana, comprising a Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters and a Protocol on Cultural Exchange and Cooperation.

The signing took place during a meeting between Pabitra Margherita, India's Minister of State for External Affairs and Textiles, who is on an official visit to Cuba, and Gerardo Peñalver Portal, Cuba's Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs.

During the exchange, Peñalver Portal emphasized the priority of continuing to develop ongoing political dialogue and economic and trade cooperation with India in areas such as health, education, science, and culture, in order to broaden the legal framework of their relations.

He emphasized the value of this cooperation and expressed gratitude for the solidarity offered by India following the hurricanes that struck the Cuban archipelago in recent years, such as the recent donation after Hurricane Melissa, consisting of 20 tons of humanitarian aid and a mobile field hospital to provide medical care to those affected in eastern Cuba.

The official highlighted the training of hundreds of Cuban specialists in India—computer engineers, textile engineers, and others—through a scholarship program, which strengthens academic ties.

For his part, Pabitra Margherita's official visit takes place within the context of the celebrations for the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The Indian minister arrived in Havana on Sunday leading a delegation that is carrying out a busy schedule, which began with a tribute to Jose Marti, Cuba's National Hero, by laying a wreath at the memorial bearing his name in Revolution Square.

He also visited the Fidel Castro Ruz Center and, according to the program, will be received by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez.

Cuba attaches great importance to its relations with India, a nation with which it shares historic ties of friendship based on respect and cooperation for mutual benefit, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently emphasized.

It added that Cuba recognizes India's unwavering support in the fight against the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States for more than six decades.