Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero will start today with the activities of his work programme in Angola, which includes talks, meetings and visits to places of interest.

Marrero arrived in Luanda the day before from Iran, where he represented the Caribbean nation at the inauguration ceremony of President Masoud Pezeshkian.

At the «4 de Fevereiro» international airport, the head of government was received by the Secretary of State for Administration, Finance and Patrimony of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Fragoso Pascoal Ramiro, as well as by the vice-governor of the province of Luanda, Manuel António Gonçalves.

Also present were the Angolan ambassador to the Caribbean nation, Cândida Teixeira, and the director of the Americas of the Foreign Ministry, Felisberto dos Prazeres Martins.

During his stay in Luanda, Marrero will pay tribute to the National Hero and first Angolan president, António Agostinho Neto, as well as to the Cuban commander, Raúl Díaz Argüelles, who was the first head of the island’s military mission in Angola and died on 11 December 1975.

He will also hold meetings within the framework of the historic relations of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

Angola and Cuba have ties that date back to the years of the Angolan independence struggle, and in the mid-1970s the Caribbean nation played a key role in providing military, technical and humanitarian support to this African country.

In the 1990s, relations expanded into other sectors, while maintaining the high level of friendly ties.

In August last year, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel visited the African nation, where three cooperation agreements were signed in the areas of tourism, the regulation of medicines and investment.

The president and vice-president of the National Assembly of People’s Power, Esteban Lazo and Ana María Mary, respectively, also visited Angola in the period of one year.

Meanwhile, Angolan President João Lourenço was on the island in September 2023, to participate in the Summit of the Group of 77 plus China organised by Cuba.