First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba visits Timor-Leste
The First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, Marcelino Medina, visited Timor-Leste on Friday, October 12, 2018, and met with the Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, with the Minister of State for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Co-operation, Agio Pereira, and with the Deputy Minister for Primary Health Care, Élia António de Araújo dos Reis Amaral.
In the framework of cooperation between the two countries, almost one thousand Timorese doctors have already been trained in Cuba and there are currently more than 150 Cuban doctors of various specialties involved in medical care and health education in Timor-Leste.
Marcelino Medina thanked "the solidarity and support that has always been given to Cuba by the people and the Government of Timor-Leste" and said that these meetings served "to deepen bilateral cooperation in the area of health that is an example for the region, as it represents the largest Cuban medical brigade in the entire Asia-Pacific region”.
The First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba said that he was still "available to develop cooperation in other areas, such as education, agriculture, sport, biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry".
The Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation thanked "the solidarity of Cuba during the 24 years of the struggle for national liberation" and "the support Cuba continues to provide to Timor-Leste since independence".
Agio Pereira also said that during the meeting the two ministers exchanged ideas on how to explore the "potentialities of the relationship between the two countries that can greatly benefit national development" and that he spoke with Marcelino Medina about "continuing training in the existing agricultural sector which since 2015 has already trained more than twenty Timorese in ZEESM”, which is an “important pilot project for national development that will be multiplied in other areas of the country, once characteristics and potentialities are identified”.
