Raúl receives Congolese President

Raúl receives Congolese President

Granma, Havana, 29.09.2011

http://www.granma.cu/ingles/news-i/29sept-40raul-congo.html

ARMY General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers, September 26 received the Honorable Mr. Joseph Kabila Kabange, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who was making an official visit to Cuba.

During the meeting, both leaders addressed the state of bilateral relations between the countries and reiterated their willingness to work on strengthening ties in several areas. They likewise discussed issues of international interest.

Also present during the talks were Esteban Lazo Hernández, Council of State Vice President and Marcelino Medina González, Interim Minister of Foreign Affairs.

A TRIBUTE TO AFRICAN MARTYRS

In memory of his father and predecessor, Laurent Désiré Kabila, the Congolese leader unveiled a bust in Havana's Parque de los Próceres Africanos. Kabila, the first President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo after the fall of Mobuto Sese Seko, in what was then Zaire, also gave tribute to Patrice Lumumba, leader of the struggle and Prime Minister of the country after its independence in 1960.

"It's important to emphasize the fact that they are honored here in Havana, thousands of kilometers from our continent, which means they have served as exemplary figures not only in Africa and the RDC, but also in other places, such as Cuba," he said in the park dedicated to African heroes.

"This also indirectly honors all of the other combatants who shed their blood in the 1970's fighting together with us," he commented.

Víctor Dreke, president of the Cuba-Africa Friendship Association, recalled that on April 24, 1965 Cubans arrived in Congo under the command of Che, initiating the young Cuban Revolution's participation in the decolonization of Africa and the consolidation of its independence from European powers.

Also present during the ceremony were Jorge Risquet, member of the Central Committee; Marcos Rodríguez Costa, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; Enrique Román, Vice President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, and a number of Cuban internationalist combatants.

The Congolese leader also placed a wreath at the José Martí Monument in the Plaza de la Revolución.