Cuban president meets with Bolivia's Evo Morales to strengthen bilateral ties

HAVANA, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Monday met with his Bolivian counterpart, Evo Morales, to strengthen political and economic relations between the two nations following the election last week of the new head of State of this Caribbean nation.

Morales, who arrived in the Cuban capital earlier Monday, was received by Diaz-Canel with military honors at the Palace of the Revolution and later held talks in private.

Both leaders agreed to deepen political and economic ties between the two nations.

Promoting continental integration in an adverse geopolitical context was also a topic of conversation among both heads of State.

Earlier, Morales paid tribute to the island's national hero, Jose Marti, with a flower wreath at Havana's Revolution Square.

In statements to the press, the Bolivian leader congratulated Diaz-Canel on his election as president last week and highlighted Cuba's solidarity with the world in particular with medical brigades in more than 60 nations.

"We are here to move forward a new bilateral agenda and continue Fidel (Castro)'s legacy," Morales said.

He also said that his visit to Havana also responds to promoting the process of union and integration in Latin America and the Caribbean with the new Cuban president.

"We came to discuss various issues of a commercial cooperation and in terms of integration, to revitalize the agenda of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac)," he said.

During his visit, the Bolivian president will also visit the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology west of Havana to learn first-hand about Cuba's scientific developments and bolster cooperation in this sector.

Morales is the second president to visit Cuba after the election of Diaz-Canel last Thursday by the National Assembly.

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro visited Havana this weekend and met with Diaz-Canel to set up an economic, cultural and political cooperation plan for the next ten years. Enditem