ACN. HAVANA, Cuba.- Mutale Nallumango, Vice-president of Zambia's National Assembly, thanked Cuba on Thursday in this capital for its solidarity with her country, one of the poorest in Africa.

During her meeting at the main office of the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples with the president of this organization, Kenia Serrano, the parliamentarian pointed out that Cuba's support is a duty each of its citizens assumes.

Likewise, she underlined the international credibility of the Caribbean island, "obtained thanks to its tenacity to defend its social, economic and political program and to the constant solidarity for just causes it has maintained internationally, especially those of Africa."

The visitor and her delegation received a detailed explanation on the battle carried out by the Cuban people to obtain the release of its Five Heroes, unfairly imprisoned in the United States, with the relatives of which she met on Thursday at Havana's Friendship Center.

Invited by the Cuban Parliament, Mutale Nallumango arrived in Cuba on Sunday, where she will carry out a tight program of activities until Saturday that includes meetings with representatives of political organizations and various institutions, as well as visits to production centers.

The bonds existing between the two nations received a new boost in 2009, with the visit to the Caribbean island of Rupiah Bwezani Banda, President of that African republic, who presented Cuban Revolution leader Fidel Castro with the Zambia's Order of the Eagle in First Degree.

On that occasion, Cuba offered its support to that country in its efforts to fight malaria, a disease that each 30 seconds kills a child under five years of age and that constitutes the main cause of death in Africa.