Kochanova optimistic about Belarus-Cuba cooperation prospects in healthcare

MINSK, 27 February (BelTA) – Cooperation between the healthcare systems of Belarus and Cuba has great prospects, Chair of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly Natalya Kochanova said as she met with a Cuban delegation headed by Cuba's First Deputy Minister of Public Health Tania Margarita Cruz Hernandez, BelTA has learned.

“It has been 30 years since diplomatic relations were established between our countries. Quite a lot of agreements and memorandums have been signed and incorporated into all sectors of our life. We are glad that agreements and memorandums of cooperation were also signed in the healthcare sector. We see that bilateral cooperation in healthcare holds a lot of promise. Public health is one of the focuses of the social policy of our state. The president and the government pay the most serious attention to the improvement of the public health system. I know that the same is done in Cuba. We are interested in all aspects of this cooperation, including medical science, education and pharmaceutics,” said Natalya Kochanova.

The healthcare system of Belarus and the entire world is facing new challenges and threats, the speaker noted. “Infections such as COVID-19 prompted us to take another look at what we have in our country. When I learned that all Cuban children from the age of two are vaccinated against COVID-19, we reached out to the ambassador and today we have a Cuban vaccine, which I really appreciate. We are creating our own vaccine, we have Russian and Chinese ones, and thanks to fast action of our healthcare systems now we also have a Cuban vaccine,” the chairperson of the Council of the Republic stressed.

“We would very much welcome cooperation in the pharmaceutical industry. We hope that your visit will open up new opportunities for interaction between our healthcare systems,” added Natalya Kochanova.