President of the Republic of El Salvador, Carlos Mauricio Funes

The President of El Salvador, Carlos Mauricio Funes, will arrive in Cuba on Monday for an official visit. During his stay, the head of state will hold talks with his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro and will carry out several activities, according to the report published by Granma newspaper on Monday.

Cuba and El Salvador established diplomatic relations on November 11, 1902, but were broken off on March 11, 1961 -a decision made by the Central American country.

When the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) came to power, bilateral relations were re-established on June 1st, 2009.

The Cuban embassy in El Salvador was opened on January 8, 2010, and on March 13 the diplomatic mission of the Central American country was inaugurated in Havana.

Cuba’s medical cooperation with El Salvador began with the assistance given to that nation in its struggle against dengue and after Hurricane Mitch hit that area.

In October, 2009, after the passage of Hurricane Ida, a Cuban medical brigade composed of 17 health professionals traveled to El Salvador, who offered their services in the department of San Vicente, one of the most affected by the meteorological phenomenon.

A total of 583 Salvadorians have graduated from Cuban universities, 450 of which in health specialties. At present, over one thousand Salvadorian youngsters are studying in Cuba, 960 also in health specialties.

During the 64th period of sessions of the UN General Assembly, El Salvador voted in favor of Cuba’s resolution against the economic, financial and commercial blockade maintained by the United States against the Caribbean island.

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