The foreign ministers of Cuba, Bruno Rodriguez, and Zambia, Effron Chakupa Lungu, ratified the historic bonds between the two countries and the possibilities that exist to strengthen them, during a meeting held on Tuesday morning.

 

The Cuban Minister of Foreign Affaire highlighted that for the island the deepening of bonds with that African nation, consolidated since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1972, was a priority, the Granma newspaper reported.

 

Rodriguez, also a Politburo member, said that the propitious framework to strengthen these bonds was the upcoming celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Organization for African Unity, and expressed his appreciation for Zambia’s stance against the economic, financial and commercial blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba for over five decades now.

 

For his part, the Zambian FM sent greetings to the President of the councils of State and Ministers and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party, Army General Raul Castro, and to the Cuban government and people.

 

Chakupa Lungu pointed out that Zambia wishes to take advantage of Cuba’s pro tempore chairmanship of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to promote relations of that mechanism with the African Union.

 

In another moment of the meeting, he reiterated his country’s interest in opening the Zambian embassy to Havana.