Cuba president reiterates support for Palestine

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel received on Sunday 144 Palestinian students studying medicine in Cuba at the Revolutionary Palace in Havana, including 53 students from the Gaza Strip.

“It is a great honour and pride to be able to embrace them all… Our country stands and will continue to stand by the cause of the brotherly Palestinian people,” Diaz-Canel told the gathering, adding that his country has portrayed the best model of international solidarity in the world as it practises true solidarity and defence of humanity, not only in words but in deeds.

Canel stressed that Palestinian youth in Cuba “have not lost their roots, but on the contrary, through the feelings and life stories they shared with us, they also express their firm conviction to defend their homeland.”

The Cuban Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, and Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez, attended the meeting, in addition to other officials of the Cuban Communist Party.

During the meeting, the Palestinian students presented the Palestinian keffiyeh to the Cuban president and members of his government, as an expression of their gratitude for Cuba’s position, stressing the need to exert more pressure on the international community to stop the Israeli occupation and its ongoing aggression against the Gaza Strip.

 

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In turn, Diaz-Canel accompanied the Palestinian students to the Jose Marti memorial square, where the Palestinian flag was raised, and a band performed revolutionary songs in support of Palestine.

As many as 224 Palestinians study medicine in the Caribbean country, 78 of them are from the Gaza Strip. Since 2005, some 104 Palestinian doctors have graduated from Cuba.

READ: Beyond Borders: International map of Cuban medical cooperation