President Miguel Díaz-Canel highlighted today in Havana the brotherhood between the peoples of Cuba and Angola in the context of the half-century of diplomatic ties and the African nation’s independence.

The Cuban leader, on his account on the social network X, acclaimed «the 50 years of Angola’s independence and of the establishment of diplomatic relations,» as well as his country’s tribute to the anniversary celebrated in the Portocarrero hall of the Palace of the Revolution in Havana.

«It was a tribute to the brotherhood between both peoples, cemented with the blood of Cuban internationalists and MPLA combatants. We recalled the friendship between #Fidel and Neto,» Díaz-Canel emphasised.

Cuba contributed to Angola’s independence through a solidarity epic begun in 1975 which took shape in the so-called Operation Carlota and in which more than 370,000 Cuban military personnel participated.

At the commemoration event held the previous day, the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Army Corps General Álvaro López, expressed that «yesterday we shared in the trenches,» and that today «we are proud that Angola is the African country where Cuba has the most diverse and numerous collaboration.»

The Angolan ambassador in Havana, Carlos Cruz de Lemos, thanked Cuba, which he described as a «second home» for many compatriots who found professional training on the Island in various specialties, and acknowledged its example of solidarity towards other peoples.

The tribute at the Palace of the Revolution was presided over by Díaz-Canel and also included members of the Communist Party and the Cuban government, representatives of political and mass organisations and of the armed institutions of the largest of the Antilles.