Beijing, Sep 26 (Prensa Latina) China and Cuba celebrated the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations here today, with messages of commitment to strengthening friendship and cooperation in all areas.

The Chinese government’s special representative for Latin American affairs, Qiu Xiaoqi, congratulated the anniversary and recalled that the island was the first country in the Western Hemisphere to recognize the new China in 1960.

He noted that for six and a half decades, the two countries have maintained strong relations, supported each other on issues of common interest, and consolidated a relationship of friends, comrades, and brothers.

He noted that under the leadership of Presidents Xi Jinping and Miguel Díaz-Canel, relations have reached new consensus, including the commitment to building a community of shared destiny.

The official also indicated that the recent meeting between the two leaders in Beijing provided new directions for expanding bilateral cooperation and enhancing coordination in international forums.

For his part, the Cuban ambassador to China, Alberto Blanco, expressed that the friendship between the two countries has stood the test of time, geographical distance, and several generations, consolidating itself through mutual political trust.

He emphasized that the top leaders of both nations have given personal priority to ties, which has allowed for strategic consensus to be reached to strengthen ties in all spheres.

Blanco noted that Cuba supports the global initiatives proposed by Xi Jinping, such as the Global Governance Initiative, and reiterated its defense of multilateralism and the principles of the UN Charter.

The diplomat affirmed that peace is not promoted through hegemony or tariff wars, and denounced double standards, the application of unilateral coercive measures, and genocide against the Palestinian people.

He also reaffirmed Havana’s support for Venezuela and President Nicolás Maduro in the face of the US onslaught under false pretexts.

On several occasions, Beijing reiterated its support for the island in the fight against the US blockade and demanded its removal from Washington’s unilateral list of state sponsors of terrorism.

A special edition of Lookwe magazine dedicated to the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations was also launched during the evening. Friends of solidarity groups, artists, businesspeople, academics, and representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited to China participated in this event.

On September 2, 1960, in front of more than a million Cubans, the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, called for a break with the Taiwanese government and the establishment of diplomatic ties with Mao Zedong’s People’s Republic of China.

On September 28 of that year, Cuba became the first country in Latin America and the Caribbean to establish these ties with the new China, paving the way for relations between the Asian giant and the rest of the nations in the region.

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Havana, Sep 23 (Prensa Latina) Cuba and Brazil will begin a high-level forum today in Havana focused on the exchange of public policies, programs, and strategies on social protection, food sovereignty, and nutritional security.

This meeting will continue until tomorrow with the aim of establishing a strategic space for building synergies and a concrete agenda for South-South cooperation.

According to the event program, the Brazilian Minister of Agrarian Development and Family Farming, Paulo Teixeira; the Minister of Development and Social Assistance, Family and the Fight Against Hunger, Wellington Dias; and the director of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency and representative of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ruy Carlos Pereira, among other high-ranking representatives from both countries, will participate.

As part of the meeting, roundtables will be held to analyze policies, programs, and the management of national social protection systems, sovereignty, and food and nutrition security.

Likewise, efforts will be made to strengthen agri-food systems, with an emphasis on family farming and sustainable consumption.

The High-Level Meeting on Social Protection Policies, Food Sovereignty, and Food and Nutrition Security reinforces the priority that the Cuban State and Government give to the management of financial, technological, and material resources through international projects, with the aim of strengthening national productive capacities and reducing dependence on imports.

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Caracas, Sep 21 (Prensa Latina) Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez today received Roberto Morales, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), and the delegation accompanying him on his official visit to Venezuela.

“We met with the delegation of the Communist Party of Cuba to strengthen our ties of friendship and cooperation in the face of current geopolitical challenges and imperialist aggression against our people,” the vice president wrote on her Telegram account.

Rodríguez stated that both countries “will continue to develop concrete work agendas” between the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and the PCC within the framework of the Cuba-Venezuela Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement “to overcome the criminal economic blockade of which both countries are victims.”

“Firmer than ever in defending the project of Bolívar and Martí, of Chávez and Fidel!” he emphasized.

Morales arrived in Caracas last Wednesday to complete a broad agenda of dialogue with Venezuelan authorities, pay tribute to the Liberator at the National Pantheon, and meet with Venezuelan collaborators who provide services to the Bolivarian Republic.

The Secretary of Organization and his delegation, comprised of leaders of the PCC, the UJC, the Cuban Workers’ Union, among others, were received on Friday by President Nicolás Maduro and other authorities at the Miraflores Palace, the seat of government.

This meeting demonstrated the close ties of friendship and cooperation between Havana and Caracas, which were further strengthened by the work plans between the PSUV and PCC, and the youth of both countries.

Maduro highlighted the Cuban Communist Party’s “brilliant history of articulation” with the progressive forces of Latin America and the Caribbean.

This visit has been “very well received” by the Socialist Party and has called for the development of action plans, with a strong capacity to integrate historical experience into all lines and fronts of work of the Cuban political organization with the PSUV, the Great Patriotic Pole, and the Bolivarian Revolution.

The president called for aligning all training plans with the island’s for Party cadres and Venezuelan youth, and for “the UJC to increasingly unite with socialist youth in all youth leadership exchange plans.”

For his part, Morales reaffirmed Cuba’s willingness to always stand by Venezuela and its people, in this and any other circumstance, and extended warm greetings on behalf of the leader of the Revolution, Raúl Castro, and the president and secretary general of the PCC, Miguel Díaz-Canel.

“As always, count on Cuba, its people, and the Revolution,” he reaffirmed, recalling that José Martí’s trip to this country in 1881, where he paid homage to the Liberator and expressed, “Let Venezuela tell you how we can serve you,” is very much with Cubans.

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