• Submitted by: admin
• Politics and Government
• 12 / 04 / 2006

---

MARIA JULIA MAYORAL

A cooperation program between Cuba and Haiti for the coming year was signed Friday in Havana by Haitian President Rene Preval and Esteban Lazo, the vice president of Cubas Council of State.

Preval called the accord an honor, with the negotiations taking place in the context of the celebration for the 80^th birthday of Fidel Castro and the 50^th anniversary of the landing of the expeditionary force that had traveled the seas from Mexico to Cuba on the Granma yacht.

After singing the document, whose contents outline possibilities for exchange in 14 different areas, Preval assured that "such cooperation would not be possible without the determination of this great man "Fidel Castro"," whom he said has marked the last century and has changed relations between countries.

On behalf of his people, President Preval thanked Cuba for the presence of hundreds of collaborators working in Haiti and for the more than 800 Haitian youth that are studying in Cuba, "where they learn not only technical material, but also about fraternity."

Esteban Lazo described the meeting between the delegations as successful, summing up several months of work with the participation of specialists from diverse fields.

In noting the essence of the solidarity and ties with the neighboring country, Lazo said Cuba does not promote collaboration on the basis of offering its excesses, but instead, by sharing what it has, putting in practice its humanistic principles and belief in social justice.

Source: Granma