Díaz-Canel arrives in South Africa

The president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, arrived this Tuesday in South Africa to participate in the 15th Brics Summit, to be held in Johannesburg until the 24th, in his capacity as current president of the G77 and China.

South Africa, Miguel Díaz-Canel

At the airport, the president was received by Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Minister of the Presidency in charge of women’s affairs, youth and people with disabilities, and the island’s ambassador to Pretoria, Enrique Orta Gonzales.

Díaz-Canel was accompanied by Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, the Minister of Public Health, José Ángel Portal Miranda, and the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade, Ana Teresita González Fraga, among others.

Recently, the Cuban leader recalled that for the first time Cuba participates in a Brics Summit (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).

We are doing so, he said, in our capacity as president of the Group of 77 and China.

It will be a space, he added, in which “we will advocate the strengthening of effective coordination between both mechanisms of coordination to defend the claims of the global south”.

the official address of the Cuban leader at the Summit as the rotating president of the G77 and China will take place, according to the program, on the 24th at the Brics Plus Dialogue, which, together with the Brics Africa Outreach, includes nations from the Global South, the African continent and international organizations.

Prior to that, on the 23rd, as scheduled, he is expected to attend an event of solidarity with Cuba with the participation of graduates on the island, Cuban aid workers, and representatives of like-minded South African political and social forces.

In addition, he is expected to hold bilateral dialogues with leaders of local and international political parties, with which Cuba has long-standing cordial relations.

According to South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa invited to the 15th Summit international leaders such as the Secretary General of the United Nations, the President of the African Union Commission, the President of the New Development Bank and leaders of the African Regional Economic Communities.

In addition, the heads of African financial organizations, the Secretary General of the African Continental Free Trade Area, and the Executive Director of the African Union Development Agency.

Prior to his stay in South Africa, Díaz-Canel paid an official visit to the Republic of Angola, where, among other activities, he held a meeting with his counterpart João Lourenço and addressed the National Assembly.

Subsequently, as announced by the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the President will make official visits to the Republic of Mozambique and Namibia.

With information from Prensa Latina / Translated by Radio Angulo