Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim Raisi and his Cuban counterpart Miguel Diaz-Canel hold official talks here today after a ceremony to welcome the visitor.

The talks between the two statesmen are taking place behind closed doors inside the historic cultural complex of Saad Abad, where Díaz-Canel was received with all the honors befitting a head of state.

At the end of their dialogue, the two leaders will hold a joint press conference to announce the details of their talk, focused on giving continuity to the agreements previously reached and explaining the rest of the activities planned for the official visit of the Antillean leader.

The Cuban leader, at the head of a high-level political and economic delegation, arrived at Tehran airport the day before and was received by the Minister of Health, Treatment and Medical Education, Bahram Einolahi, who is also in charge of the Iran-Cuba Joint Cooperation Commission.

The visit takes place 22 years after the visit made by the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, of which the Iranians still have fond memories, due to the fact that it brought the interests of both peoples and governments much closer.

Cuba and Iran have a consolidated friendship of almost 44 years, initiated on August 8, 1979, and are the target of sanctions by the United States.

In these decades, both countries have signed and consolidated agreements and exchanges in areas such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, pharmaceuticals and food safety.

In June of this year, the Iranian president paid an official visit to Cuba, during which six cooperation documents were signed.

Díaz-Canel arrived in Iran from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, countries where he began his current tour of Middle Eastern states.