The leaders held official talks and three instruments of cooperation were signed.

The fourth meeting between the presidents of Cuba and Seychelles in a year is one more reason to continue strengthening the historic relations between the two nations, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez told his counterpart from the African island nation, Wavel Ramkalawan, whom he officially received Wednesday night at the Palace of the Revolution.

After the solemn welcoming ceremony, the leaders held talks, in which the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic recalled the exchanges with the President of the Republic of Seychelles, in September 2023 in Havana, on the occasion of the Summit of the Group of 77 and China; then in New York, during the United Nations General Assembly; later at the Climate Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and now here again.

The meeting now, he said, will allow us to continue to address «issues that concern us, answers that we share, commitments that we have, and to review the progress and prospects of our relations».

Díaz-Canel ratified to Ramkalawan the commitment and political will of the Cuban government to continue strengthening the ties of friendship between the two countries and collaboration in health and other areas in which they have mutual interests.

The Cuban President thanked the Republic of Seychelles for its support for the UN resolution to put an end to the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States Government against Cuba, as well as its strong support for the African Union’s statement in this regard.

He also stressed the importance of the struggle to remove the Caribbean island from the spurious list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism, given the severe impact it is having on our people.

For his part, Wavel Ramkalawan expressed his gratitude for the generous welcome he has been receiving since his arrival in Cuba: «Here one feels at home. Seychelles is an island nation like this, and even the temperatures make me feel like I am there.

He also stressed that Cuba and Seychelles are friends who are meeting again to consolidate relations, and thanked for the collaboration and assistance that the Greater Antilles has been giving to his nation for several decades.

The official talks were attended, for the Republic of Seychelles, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Sylvestre Radegonde, and the Ambassador to Cuba, Ian Madeleine.

The Cuban side was represented by Political Bureau member and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, Minister of Public Health Jose Angel Portal Miranda, Director General of Bilateral Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Carlos Miguel Pereira and Cuban Ambassador to Seychelles Martha Hernandez Caneiro.

At the end of the official meeting, three agreements were signed aimed at promoting the development of political-diplomatic ties and cooperation between the two countries in the areas of criminal justice, environment and academic-diplomatic training.

The instruments were initialled by the Seychelles Minister of Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Sylvestre Radegonde, and by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, and Doctor of Science Eduardo Martínez Díaz, Minister of Science, Technology and Environment.

Cuba and Seychelles have long-standing diplomatic relations, established on 12 April 1978, based on friendship, solidarity and decades of cooperation in the areas of health and human resources training. Around 80 Seychellois have studied on the West Indian island. (Author: René Tamayo León)