According to a note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which VerAngola had access to, the Cuban president landed in Luanda on Sunday afternoon.
"On arrival, at 4 de Fevereiro International Airport, the Cuban president was received by Téte António, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Angola", reads the note, which adds that the reception committee to Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez it was also composed of Manuel Homem, governor of Luanda province, Cândida Teixeira, Angolan ambassador to Cuba, Esther Armenteros Cárdenas, Cuban ambassador to Angola, and the Angolan ambassadors Felisberto Martins and António Luvualu de Carvalho.
"For the first time in Angola, since he ascended to the presidency, the Cuban statesman arrives to carry out a three-day state visit", informs the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to a press release from the Auxiliary Bodies of the President of the Republic – cited by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – the agenda of the President of Cuba foresees a meeting with the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, as well as "official conversations between the ministerial delegations of the two countries ".
In addition, the two heads of state will also "witness, in the Presidential Palace of Cidade Alta, the signing of agreements".
Regarding the agreements to be signed, Felisberto Martins, director for America at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, referred that at least three will be signed. "During this visit, the Cuban president will have a private meeting with President João Lourenço and we are planning to sign at least three agreements during the stay and during the work with the Cuban delegation. We are going to sign an agreement in the field of tourism, we are going to sign another agreement between the free and special economic zones and ours in Luanda-Bengo, also the special economic zone of Mariel in Cuba, another agreement is in the field of health. So these three agreements are prepared and are being signed during the work that we are going to have here with the Cuban delegation", he said, quoted by Rádio Nacional de Angola (RNA).
The Cuban president's agenda starts with a visit to the Dr. António Agostinho Neto Memorial, where he will sign the honor book. Also during this Monday, the head of state of Cuba will speak at the National Assembly. According to Angop, its program also foresees the laying of a wreath on the tomb of the Cuban commander Raúl Diaz Arguelles Garcia, as well as a meeting with Angolan former students in Cuba, while on Tuesday, Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez will leave Angola for Mozambique.
Angola and Cuba maintain historic ties of friendship, with diplomatic relations between the two countries having been established on 15 November 1975, with cooperation in the fields of health, education, energy, defence, security, higher education, oil and industry.
In April of this year, an Angolan government delegation traveled to Havana, the capital of Cuba, to update sectoral conventions, agreements and memorandums of understanding to reinforce the bilateral relationship.
The terms for reinforcing bilateral cooperation with the Cuban counterpart were evaluated between the two countries during the XV Session of the Intergovernmental Commission for Technical-Scientific Economic Cooperation, which took place between 6 and 7 April this year.
The parties reached consensus and signed two new memorandums of understanding, within the framework of bilateral cooperation, aimed at the Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation and Youth and Sports sectors.
"The parties pointed out the ways for the materialization of the agreements, conventions and memorandums that are already in force, as well as for the preparation of others in the most varied domains, with emphasis on the sectors of Finance, Health and Justice", says the Angolan government portal.
During the technical meeting, action plans and goals for attracting foreign direct investment in the two countries were also defined, with a view to deepening business relations under the direct monitoring of the Private Investment and Export Promotion Agency of Angola (AIPEX), on the Angolan side, and the Center for the Promotion of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (ProCuba), on the Cuban side.
