4 March 2008
Havana — The Mozambican and Cuban governments have decided that cooperation between the two countries is to be strengthened in the areas currently covered, and will be extended to new areas.
Cuba has been cooperating with Mozambique in areas such as education, health, sports, science and technology, and the two countries will now also work together in tourism, agriculture, and biotechnology.
These decisions were taken on Monday during a two hour meeting between delegations of the two countries, led by their presidents, Armando Guebuza and Raul Castro, as part of the agenda of Guebuza's first official visit to Cuba as Mozambican head of state.
The participants to the meeting drew up a positive balance sheet of the more than 30 years of cooperation between Mozambique and Cuba. Mozambique wants to continue benefiting from Cuban technological advances in order to face the challenges of socio-economic development.
The specialized technical assistance from Cuba is particularly beneficial to Mozambique because it is less costly when compared with the terms and conditions offered by some other international cooperation partners.
During his visit to Cuba, Guebuza is to visit centres of technical, scientific, and economic interest, to learn of recent advances in those areas, and how their experiences can serve the development of Mozambique.
He will also visit the Genetics and Biotechnical Engineering Centre and the Livestock Genetics Company in Matanzas province, as well as an an important tourist centre in Varadero province. About 2.5 million tourists from across the world visit Cuba every year.
Cuba has made major strides in biotechnology. For example, a Cuban vaccine against hepatitis B is sold in over 30 countries.
Prior to the Monday talks, Guebuza visited Havana's Revolution Square, and laid a wreath in memory of the Cuban national hero, Jose Marti.
During his visit, Guebuza will also meet with heads of African missions accredited in Havana, and with the Mozambican community on the island, which consists mainly of students studying at various Cuban universities and institutes.
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