Miguel Díaz-Canel made this Sunday the first visit by a Cuban president to belizewhere he met with the main authorities of that country.
The Cuban president arrived in that Central American nation from Mexico and fulfilled a busy schedule, which included meetings with Governor Froyla Tzalam and Prime Minister John Briceño.
In addition, he participated in an extraordinary session of the Belizean National Assembly, in which he thanked “gestures of solidarity with Cuba in difficult times” and Belize’s support for the lifting of the US embargo/blockade on the island.
Moved and honored by the deference, I spoke before the Parliament of #Belizein a special and open session, next to the sea that unites us.
I appreciated the gestures of solidarity with #Cuba in difficult times and the Belizean claim to lift the #Blocking. pic.twitter.com/ilyyIySmRU
— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) February 12, 2023
Before the parliamentary session, Díaz-Canel and Briceño held talks in which they “expressed their interest in strengthening economic, trade and cooperation ties and exchanged on the agreements adopted at the VIII Summit of the Caribbean Community (Caricom)”, refers a report of Latin Press (PL).
During the visit, Briceño thanked Cuba for the “transformative impact on the growth and development of developing countries in the world, including Belize,” and condemned the “unjustified designation of Cuba” as a state sponsor of terrorism by Washington.
In addition, he praised the work of Cuban health professionals in Belizean territory, and in particular the members of the Henry Reeve brigade that faced the COVID-19 pandemic in their country.
For his part, Díaz-Canel assured that he felt honored to be the first Cuban head of state to visit Belize, and highlighted the work of the more than a thousand island collaborators who have provided services in the Central American country since the 1990s.
Precisely, the Cuban president, who traveled accompanied by several ministers, held a meeting with Health collaborators to close his visit, before returning to Cuba.
?⚕️?⚕️| President @DiazCanelB concluded his visit to #Belize with a meeting with Health collaborators who work in this nation.
Regarding the 117 doctors and nurses that are part of the Cuban mission, the president said that they were a source of pride for #Cuba. pic.twitter.com/2MRlL3EoES
— Presidency Cuba ?? (@PresidenciaCuba) February 12, 2023
Cuba and Belize established diplomatic relations in 1995. Since then, three of the five prime ministers of the Central American nation have visited the island: Said Musa, Dean Barrow and John Briceño.
Currently, a hundred Cuban collaborators from Health and Sports are working in Belize, according to PL. In addition, 64 Belizean scholars study on the island.