President Díaz-Canel in Portugal for a state visit

Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, arrived in Lisbon to start a state visit that will last until July 16, in response to an invitation by the government of Portugal.

President Díaz-Canel arrived at Humberto Delgado International Airport of Lisbon, the capital of the Portuguese Republic, where he was received at the foot of the stairs of the aircraft by Commander Abel Oliveira; José Pedro Machado Vieira, Portuguese ambassador to Cuba; and Yusmari Díaz Pérez, Cuban ambassador to the Portuguese nation.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who travels accompanied by his wife Lis Cuesta Peraza, heads the delegation composed of Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, member of the Politburo and Minister of Foreign Affairs; and Ana Teresita González Fraga, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, along with other officials of the Foreign Ministry.

According to the program, the Cuban President will hold talks with the highest authorities in the country.

Likewise, President Díaz-Canel will exchange with other personalities from politics, culture, business, Cuba solidarity groups, and representatives of different sectors of Portuguese society who for decades have expressed their support for the Caribbean Island.

Cuba and Portugal share on both sides of the Atlantic a history of 104 years of uninterrupted relations that overcomes adversities.

In 2016, Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa visited the largest Caribbean Island. In what constituted the first visit of a Portuguese Head of State to our country, he held meetings with Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, then President of the Councils of State and Ministers. He also met with the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Commander in Chief Fidel Castro.

Fidel was twice in Portugal, in 1998 and 2001; however, this visit of the President of the Republic Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez is the first official agenda of a Cuban president to the European country.

This state visit by President Díaz-Canel is a symbol of the friendship and respect that have united both nations for decades.

With information of RHC