MINSK, 5 December (BelTA) – Belarus and Cuba are united by unbreakable bonds of friendship, President of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba Juan Esteban Lazo Hernandez said as he met with Chair of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly Natalya Kochanova and Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly Vladimir Andreichenko, BelTA has learned.
“I strongly believe that we cannot make progress in promoting bilateral relations unless we maintain close inter-parliamentary contacts,” Juan Esteban Lazo Hernandez said.
The Cuban official noted that the sanctions against Cuba are still in place, but the country courageously resists them. “They adopted a concept that provided for inflicting serious economic damage to Cuba, cutting off access to financial resources, causing great hardship to the population in order to force people to turn against the revolution and the leader of Cuba Fidel Castro. In February 1962 they officially declared a blockade. The blockade remains to this day. That is why we have so much experience, and we understand very well what they are now trying to do against you. They did not succeed in strangling the revolution. Our courageous people stood up against it. And the friends who defended us were from here - from the Soviet Union. That's why they failed to stifle the Cuban revolution,” he said.
Belarus and Cuba have a huge potential for expanding relations, Juan Esteban Lazo Hernandez is sure. “When I said that we had to save the revolution when it was reviving, I was engaged in agriculture on behalf of the party, and we had very reliable tractors made by Minsk Tractor Works. There are MAZ buses in the capital city. BelAZ trucks are still operated in our mining fields. Many of these machines are idle now because of the lack of spare parts. We must continue dealing with this matter,” he added.
“This year we are marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our countries, and we must achieve concrete gains and results. Belarus and Cuba are united by indissoluble bonds of friendship. They have a very strong foundation since the days of the Soviet Union,” Juan Esteban Lazo Hernandez said. “Our political dialogue, inter-parliamentary contacts are at a good level, our legislatures should do everything in their power to step up cooperation, we both have potential to do this. We have great cooperation prospects in healthcare, manufacturing, pharmaceutical industry. We have signed bilateral documents. You are an example of what we can achieve in agriculture, construction, science, technology and tourism. We have many areas where bilateral cooperation holds a lot of promise and we should make the most of these opportunities. The economies of our countries do not compete, but can complement each other. Those agreements that have been reached should be implemented,” he said.
The official visit of the parliamentary delegation of the Republic of Cuba, headed by President of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba Juan Esteban Lazo Hernandez, concluded on 4 December.
