CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

Our visit will benefit the historic friendship between Guatemala and Cuba

• Says the president of that Central American nation while bidding farewell to Raúl at the José Martí International Airport CUBA, February 19, 2009. VERY positive was how Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom described his first official visit to Cuba, as he bid farewell to Cuban President Raúl Castro on Wednesday at José Martí International Airport.

Speaking to reporters, Colom reiterated his satisfaction with his time on the island, saying it would "benefit the historic friendship between our two nations."

He noted that his visit would contribute to boosting cooperation in fields such as biotechnology and in education and health, where Cuba’s support "is already strong."

The Guatemalan president emphasized that his official visit, like those of other Latin American leaders, represented backing for the Cuban government and people and their solidarity.

Referring to his remarks during a lecture at the University of Havana, where he apologized for Guatemalan territory having been used in preparing for the mercenary Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, Colom said that "historic errors like this should be remembered so that they do not happen again."

In response to a reporter’s question on whether Colom had met with Fidel, Cuban President Raúl Castro said that the leader of the Revolution "received both presidents because they are ladies," referring to Cristina Fernández, of Argentina, and Michelle Bachelet, of Chile.

"That was what the Argentine president said when she made the request. I told her, ‘Other presidents have come; he can’t see all of them.’ She answered, ‘But I am a lady.’ So I said to her, ‘But after you, there is another lady coming, the one from Chile.’ And she said that there were only two of them on the continent, and that he could see both of them."

"I recounted the anecdote to Fidel and he decided to receive them, but he can’t receive all of the presidents," Raúl added, as an explanation for why the leader of the Revolution did not meet with other presidents.

Before boarding his plane to return to Guatemala, Colom reiterated to journalists that he was very happy and very satisfied.

Others at the airport to see him off included José Ramón Balaguer, Political Bureau member and minister of public health, and Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque. (Cubaminrex- Granma Internacional)