By Yaima Puig Meneses and René Tamayo on August 27, 2023
Photo: Alejandro Azcuy Dominguez.
“Our house is your house,” Namibian President Hage Geingob assured today, in Spanish, to the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic of Cuba, at the start of official talks between the two delegations, this Sunday morning, at the State House headquarters.
In Namibia, he said, “we consider Cubans as brothers, therefore, I trust that you will feel at home here”.
This was the warmth that marked the entire dialogue, which lasted for an hour, and was preceded by a “tête â tête” meeting, as they say in diplomatic terms, between the two presidents.
This is President Diaz-Canel’s second working day in Namibia, where this Saturday he participated as guest of honor in the Commemoration of the Heroes’ Day. It was extremely exciting to participate in this event that has much to do with the essence of how our relations came about, said the Cuban Head of State at one point during the talks.
About the continuity of ties and their strengthening, the leaders also commented, both part of new generations of Cubans and Namibians who have in their hands the responsibility to preserve and further develop the historic and endearing relations that have existed for more than three decades between the two nations.
“It is our express will, the Caribbean leader assured, to continue deepening and broadening those relations”. We have the challenge, he said, that “these feelings are also taken to the new generations of Cubans and Namibians, and that this historical memory that united us and was forged in the struggle is never lost.
We recognize in you, he said, someone who has been a continuator of those relations initiated by Sam Nujoma, also maintained by Hifikepunye Pohamba, and which you are now nurturing in an exemplary manner.
For all these reasons, and also because of the merits of the Namibian leader, as well as his friendship towards the Greater Antilles, President Díaz-Canel announced during the dialogue the decision of the Cuban State to award Hage Geingob the highest distinction granted by our nation: the “José Martí” Order.
He then invited President Geingob to make an official visit to the Caribbean island, an occasion that would be propitious to give continuity to the issues addressed on this occasion and also to be able to decorate him.
The Cuban delegation is made up of Political Bureau member and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla; Public Health Minister José Angel Portal Miranda; member of the Council of State and rector of the University of Havana, Miriam Nicado García; head of the Department of International Relations of the Party’s Central Committee, Emilio Lozada García; and First Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, Ana Teresita González Fraga, as well as other Foreign Affairs officials.
At the end of the official talks, in the presence of both presidents and their respective official delegations, three agreements were signed, mainly related to the development of institutional relations of cooperation in the business sphere; as well as the realization of diplomatic political consultations to strengthen bilateral relations and promote exchanges on issues of common interest.
Emotional and highly symbolic have characterized the days experienced by the Cuban delegation accompanying President Díaz-Canel in this official visit to the African nation. Here, the affection for Cuba is intensely felt and that was conveted by President Hage Geingob during the official talks this Sunday.
To Cuba, he said, all our recognition and admiration, for the courageous role played, under the leadership of Fidel Castro Ruz, for the achievement of “our definitive independence”. Then, he recalled, the only path we had was the struggle and “we will never forget the courage and will of the Cuban internationalist fighters who came to support our country”. To all of them, said the Namibian president, all our gratitude.
The Cubans, he stressed, did not come to help us to get anything in return, but for a matter of principle; they came to help us, for our freedom and also that of other peoples. “The Cubans fought in Namibia as if they were fighting for Cuba,” he said.
And for that gesture of Cuba, he reflected, “we will always be grateful and we will always be supporting the people of Cuba, that is why our actions in defense of Cuba are based on that gratitude we feel for you”.
After recalling his first visit to Cuba, which took place in the 1970s, President Geingob considered that these working days together with the Cuban delegation constitute an opportunity to continue the historical legacy that has marked the relations between both nations and has its roots in the ideas and deeds supported by Fidel and Raúl.
In this sense, he reaffirmed the decision to work to carry forward the implementation of multiple cooperation agreements that will be mutually beneficial. After expressing his appreciation for the collaboration that has existed between Cuba and Namibia for more than 30 years, he said that it is currently being developed in the areas of health, education, fishing, construction, sports and others.
In a special way, he pointed out the contributions that the largest of the Antilles has made here in the health sector. “Cuban health professionals are recognized and admired all over the world, and we are fortunate to have several of them serving in medical institutions throughout the country,” he said.
“Some of our doctors do not want to go to the rural areas of Namibia, and yet Cubans are everywhere,” he acknowledged.
Referring to the unjust economic, commercial and financial blockade to which the Cuban people are subjected by the U.S. Government, the Namibian President reiterated that his country will continue “demanding that it be lifted”, because it is “impossible to understand that situation, it is a question of human rights”.
From Cuba, gratitude to Namibia
For us it is very important in this visit, President Díaz-Canel asserted to his Namibian counterpart, and regardless of the conditions experienced in Cuba as a result of the blockade, “we will always be willing to collaborate, to cooperate with the people of Namibia” and to continue expanding our relations of all kinds.
After commenting on different moments that mark the links between Cuba and the African continent, the Head of State recalled that precisely because of so many elements associated with these lands that marked the formation of our nationality, Fidel said that “we were Latin Africans and we feel and defend our African roots with healthy pride”.
In his words he also evoked the beautiful friendship that existed between the Commander in Chief and Sam Nujoma, which left a legacy “that we defend”.
Referring to the development of joint projects for the benefit of both peoples for more than 30 years, Diaz-Canel said that for Cubans who have served a mission in this country, this has also meant spiritual growth, human growth and also as revolutionaries.
photo: Alejandro Azcuy Dominguez.
With special gratitude, the Caribbean dignitary referred to the coherence, firmness and loyalty with which Namibia has denounced during all these years the unjust economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States government on Cuba. His gratitude, above all, he stressed, for Namibia being the promoter “of an initiative so that year after year, in the African Union, resolutions are passed against that blockade and in favor of Cuba”, and also for the energetic vote with which in the United Nations General Assembly they defend the Cuban resolution against that U.S. policy against our country.
He also thanked Namibia for the donations sent to the island to help us face complex scenarios such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Saratoga Hotel explosion, the fire at the Supertanker Base in Matanzas and others.
After expressing his satisfaction for all that “we have advanced in our relations” and the efforts made to strengthen them, Díaz-Canel commented on the expansion of projects in fields such as Higher Education, Culture, Sports and Health. He also invited Namibian businessmen to participate in the next Havana International Fair (FIHAV).
He also commented that as a result of this visit it was agreed to resume the Intergovernmental Commission between Cuba and Namibia, to raise the economic-commercial ties on a par with the excellent level of political relations.
At the end of his remarks, the Cuban President thanked, once again, the affection, friendship, solidarity and support that our country receives from this sister African nation.
Acre of the heroes, homage to history
Directly from the State House, the President of the Republic of Cuba, accompanied by the official delegation participating in this visit, went to the Acre of Heroes. On behalf of the Cuban people, he laid a wreath there and paid tribute to the history of this nation and its heroes.
The ceremony was simple, but very heartfelt, and the Namibian Vice President, Nangolo Mbumba, was also present. Despite the altitude and the overwhelming cold of this midday in Namibia, the warmth of our people also reached this must-visit site to honor the legacy of this nation whose brave sons have been able to write an admirable history.
Located south of the Namibian capital, the monument was inaugurated in 2002 and is in the shape of a symmetrical polygon, with a marble obelisk and a bronze statue of the unknown soldier in the center. The site is the scene of important rallies and official events in Namibia.
Source: Cubadebate translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English