CUBA, October 21, 2009. Bolivian President Evo Morales met on Tuesday in the presidential residence of San Jorge with Cuban First Vice President Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, who is on an official visit to the South American nation. Granma newspaper reports that Morales highlighted the positive results of the 7th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of the Americas (ALBA) recently held in Cochabamba, Bolivia, where the members adopted important agreements for the benefit of the peoples of this regional bloc. The Bolivian leader stressed the importance of the upcoming celebrations in Havana – on December 13 – of the fifth anniversary of ALBA, a mechanism for regional integration that emerged as an initiative by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his then Cuban counterpart Fidel Castro. Meanwhile, Machado Ventura expressed his admiration for the achievements of the process of social changes underway in Bolivia, led by Evo Morales since January 2006. The Cuban high-ranking official reaffirmed Cuba’s willingness to increase its cooperation with the South American nation in the fields of health and education, particularly in the post-literacy campaign, among others. The Bolivian ministers of Foreign Affairs, David Choquehuanca; Health and Sports, Ramiro Tapia; and Education, Roberto Aguilar, participated in the meeting as well. Also present was the Cuban Ambassador in La Paz, Rafael Dausa; Cuban Deputy Health Minister Roberto Morales Ojeda; and the head of the Health Department at the Central Committee of Cuba’s Communist Party, Gerardo Hernandez Rodriguez; among other officials. On Tuesday, Machado Ventura visited several hospital facilities in La Paz, where he met with Cuban health personnel making their contribution there. He also met with members of the Cuban embassy in the Bolivian capital. (Cubaminrex- ACN) |