Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Angola/Cuba: Chronology of Relations During 2008-2009

Angola: Chronology of Relations

20 July 2009

Luanda — The Republics of Angola and Cuba share historic cooperation and friendship relations since the early stages of the Angolan liberation struggle, stressing the support granted by Cuban internationalists to maintain the country's territorial integrity, due to foreign aggressions suffered from 1975 to late 80s.

Below is the chronology of 2008/2009

(2008)

January 10 - Cuban ambassador to Angola, Pedro Ross Leal, highlights the relations between Angola and Cuba and considers the month of January as special for the two countries, since they mark important dates, namely that of the National Culture and the Triumph of the Revolution.

January 22 - A Cuban delegation, led by the deputy minister of Health, Joaquim Garcia Salavarria, arrives in Angola to prepare a plan of activities together with the secretary of State for Higher Education.

February 03 - Home Affairs Ministries of Angola and of Cuba sign, in Luanda, a cooperation accord on security and public order, under the reinforcement of bilateral relations between both countries.

February 11 - Angola attends the sixth International University Congress in Havana. The Angolan delegation is led by the secretary of State for Higher Education, Adão do Nascimento.

March 17 - Cuban ambassador to Angola, Pedro Ross Leal, considers the Cuito Cuanavale Battle as determinant for the proclamation of independence of Namibia and for the end of the apartheid, racial segregation regime that was in force in South Africa during that era.

March 23 - President José Eduardo dos Santos thanks Cuba and its President, Fidel Castro, for the support granted to Angola during the South African regime's invasion to the southern region of the country.

March 26 - A political-cultural event commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Cuito Cuanavale Battle is held, in Havana, under the guidance of the President of the Council of State and Cabinet of Cuba, Raul Castro Ruz.

April 07 - The maestro of the National Symphonic Orchestra of Cuba, Adagoberto Gonzales Júnior, guarantees, in Luanda, the orchestra's total availability to assist Angolan musicians in internationalising the national music.

March 19 - Fourteen Cuban physicians arrived in Moxico province to work in local hospitals, under the re-launch of the Cuban cooperation in Angola.

May 03 - Angolan ambassador to Cuba, António Condesse de Carvalho "Toka", defends the need for Angola and Panama to work together in favour of world stability.

June 23 - The minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Felipe Perez Roque, arrives in Luanda for an official two-day visit to the country.

June 24 - Delegations of the Foreign Affairs Ministries of Angola and of Cuba sign, in Luanda, an agreement on Punishments and an agreement on Legal Assistance, at the end of the official conversations, in the light of the visit paid by the minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Felipe Perez Roque.

June 25 - Angola and Cuba sign an agreement on Legal Assistance, in Luanda, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

June 25 - The minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, Felipe Perez Roque, affirms in Luanda that the cooperation with Angola registers a satisfactory growth since 2007.

July 25 - A team of four Cuban physicians work in Ganda district, 221 kilometres from Benguela city, in the framework of the reinforcement and improvement of the supply of health services and wellbeing of the population.

July 25 - Minister Counsellor of the Cuban embassy in Angola, Reinaldo Derivet, stresses in Luanda the excellent friendship and cooperation relations between Angolans and Cubans, having reaffirmed the need for straightening them further.

July 25 - Cuban military attaché, Rafael Morecem Limonta, praises in Luanda the friendship and solidarity between Angola and his country.

July 29 - Cuban Physicians Charity Project (PCMC) promotes in Cabinda the first health scientific event in collaboration with the Provincial Health Department, which is assisted by the local government.

August 05 - A Cuban multi-sector delegation, led by the deputy prime minister of the Armed Forces of Cuba, general Leopoldo Cintra Frias, arrives in Luanda for an official six-day visit to Angola.

August 05 - The cooperation between Angola and Cuba in the sectors of Health, Education and Construction is analysed, in Luanda, during an audience that President José Eduardo dos Santos grants to the deputy prime minister of the Armed Forces of Cuba, general Leopoldo Cintra Frias.

September 11 - The Association of Ex-Scholarship Holders in Cuba "Los Caimaneros" begins a campaign of collecting donations in Angola to help curb the crisis suffered in the Caribbean Island, which was caused by the Gustav and Ike hurricanes.

September 19 - The Cuban ambassador to Angola, Pedro Ross Leal, considers MPLA's triumph in the September 05, 2008 legislative elections as an added value for the cooperation between the two states towards mutual development.

September 23 - The Cuban ambassador to Angola, Pedro Ross Leal, thanks, in Luanda, for the contribution of Angolans to the Cuban people after suffering two hurricanes that destroyed various infrastructures, including houses, telecommunication and electric systems.

October 04 - The Head of State, José Eduardo dos Santos, attends, at Atlântico Cinema (Luanda), the musical solidarity show held in favour of victims of the hurricanes that hit Cuba, in September.

October 13 - The Angolan ambassador to Cuba, António José Condesse de Carvalho "Toka", urges Angolan military forces being trained in Cuba for greater responsibility and capacity of acquiring knowledge, in order to transmit them to colleagues.

October 14 - The Executive Secretariat of the Organisation of the Angolan Woman (OMA) send a solidarity message to the Cuban people and holds a campaign of collecting funds to assist victims of the Gustav and Ike typhoons, which hit the Caribbean Island and caused material damages and deaths.

November 03 - The Angolan Embassy in Cuba praises the work carried out by Angola Press Agency (ANGOP) for having wisely assumed the responsibility of revealing the Angolan reality abroad and vice-versa.

November 06 - The minister of Education for Higher Education of Cuba, Juan Vela Valdês, arrives in the country for an official five-day visit under the reinforcement of the relations between the two countries.

November 25 - The deputy chairperson of the Cuban Institute of Arts and Cinematography Industry, Pablo Pacheco Lopes, arrives in the country to attend the Luanda International Cinema Festival.

November 26 - Cuban minister of Higher Education, Juan Vela Valdês, on a visit to Angola, travels to Benguela province, where he stayed for some hours.

November 27 - Minister of Education for Higher Education of the Republic of Cuba, Juan Vela Valdês, considers the higher education growth positive in Huambo province.

November 29 - Cuban minister of Higher Education, Juan Vale Valdês, ends his five-day visit to Angola meant to strengthen bilateral cooperation ties in the referred sector.

December 03 - Cuban physicians and university lecturers donate blood to the Central Hospital of Kuito, province of Bié, in the light of the Latin-American Medicine Day, commemorated on December 03.

December 04 - Military attaché of the Cuban Embassy in Angola, General Rafael Moracen Limonta, praises the contribution of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba (FAR) towards guaranteeing political and military stability in Southern Africa.

December 06 - Forty three Cuban physicians of various fields, distributed throughout some hospitals of Malanje, strengthen health assistance in the province.

December 14 - Cuban ambassador to Angola, Pedro Ross Leal, exalts the contribution of Ernesto Che Guevara in the combats that led to self-determination in countries of the American and African continents, including Angola.

(2009)

January 09 - Cuban ambassador to Angola, Pedro Ross Leal, recognises in Luanda that the role of slaves from Africa was decisive for the independence of that Caribbean Island, curbed by the North-American intervention in the First World War that the modern world suffered during the later stages of the 19th century.

February 02 - Delegations of JMPLA and of the Communist Youth Union of Cuba meet in Luanda to assess the cooperation level between the two party youth wings. The delegation of JMPLA was led by its first national secretary, Paulo Pombolo, whilst the Cuban team was led by Júlio Martinez, first national secretary of the Communist Youth Union of Cuba.

February 03 - Minister of Youth and Sports, Gonçalves Muandumba, analyses with the first secretary of the National Committee of the Communist Youth Union of Cuba, Júlio Martinez, about the bilateral cooperation between Angola and Cuba in the sectors of sports and other regarding the youth.

February 04 - The President of Cuba, Raúl Castro Ruz, arrives in Luanda for an official four-day state visit to Angola.

February 05 - The Presidents of the Republics of Angola, José Eduardo dos Santos, and of Cuba, Raul Castro Ruz, open in Luanda the official conversations between the delegations of both countries.

February 05 - The President of the Councils of State and of Ministers of Cuba, Raul Castro, pays homage to the first President of Angola, António Agostinho Neto, by laying a wreath on his monument, at the Independence Square, in Luanda.

February 05 - Angola and Cuba sign, in Luanda, four agreements to strengthen and expand bilateral cooperation. The cooperation accords are focussed on the sectors of geology and mining, industry and memoranda of understanding on the state and perspectives of cooperation between the two countries and between the Ministries of Education of Angola and of Cuba.

February 05 - The President of Cuba, Raul Castro, reminds, in Luanda, about an Angolan woman who led in Cuba the strikes of slaves during the 18th century in Matansa, East of Cuba, until being torn to parts by horses as the punishment applied by western colonisers for having urged slaves of a sugar factory to fight for freedom.

February 06 - The President of Cuba, Raul Castro Ruz, visits the Special Economic Zone (ZEE) at Quilómetro 30, on the national road linking Luanda to Catete village, which will host about 70 factories.

February 06 - A new method of audio-visual education, for literacy lessons, known as "Sim, eu Posso (yes, I can)" elaborated by Cuban experts, starts being implemented as from February 16 in some education centres in the districts of Viana and Cacuaco.

February 17 - Involvement in national reconstruction tasks by Angolan cadres trained in Cuba is a reason of pride for the Cuban ambassador to Angola, Pedro Ross Leal. The diplomat stresses that this active commitment is a great compensation to the government of his country, for having received and trained thousands of Angolans.

April 03 - The director of the International Centre of Neurological Restoration of Cuba, Julian Alvarez Blanco, affirms, in Luanda, that his institution is ready to train Angolan physicians in the Neurology field.

April 30 - Cuban writer Limbania Jimenez Nancy places a wreath in Luanda on the monument in honour of the Angolan heroines Irene Cohen, Deolinda Rodrigues, Lucrécia Paim and Teresa Afonso.

May 07 - Former army combatant and founding member of the Cuban Communist Party, Limbânia Jimenez "Nancy", travels to Calumbo commune, about 30 kilometres to the south of the district headquarter of Viana, in Luanda, to visit socio-cultural institutions and met with the local community.

May 18 - President of the Cuba/Africa Friendship Association, Rodolfo Puente Ferro, arrives in Luanda at the invitation of the Central Committee of MPLA, in the framework of the reinforcement of historic friendship and solidarity relations uniting the two populations.

May 28 - Twelve officers of the National Police receive post-graduation certificates on Strategic Confrontation Management, after completing the second specific six-month course, in the light of the cooperation existing between the Ministries of Home Affairs of Angola and Cuba.

June 04 - A friendship and solidarity message of the President of Cuba, Raul Castro, is delivered in Luanda to the Angolan Head of State, José Eduardo dos Santos.

June 04 - Angolan Head of State, José Eduardo dos Santos, expresses his satisfaction at the lifting of the sanction imposed on Cuba 47 years ago by the Organisation of American States.

June 16 - The Angolan minister of Defence, Kundy Paihama, is received, in Havana, by the President of the Councils of State and of Ministers of Cuba, Raul Castro Ruz, on the sidelines of a visit paid to that Caribbean country.

June 20 - The minister of Home Affairs of Cuba, Abelardo Colone Ibarra, arrives in Luanda to attend the commemorations of the founding anniversary of the Angolan Home Affairs Ministry (June 22).

June 23 - The President of Angola, José Eduardo dos Santos, analyses in Luanda, with the minister of Home Affairs of Cuba, Abelardo Ibarra, aspects relating to bilateral cooperation and others of mutual interest.

Angola Press Agency. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (http://www.allAfrica.com).

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