The also member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba reiterated his condolences for the death of Shinzo Abe, the first acting Japanese president who visited the Caribbean nation and a key figure in the advancement of bilateral ties.

Marrero insisted on the sympathy of the Cuban people for Japan and conveyed the greetings of Army General Raúl Castro and President Miguel Díaz-Canel. At the same time, he thanked the Japanese position of support for the Cuban resolution against the blockade that is presented in the United Nations General Assembly.

He also took the opportunity to thank the Japanese Government for the donation of medical equipment and vehicles for public and communal transportation on the Island, as part of the non-reimbursable financial aid.

At the meeting, Marrero Cruz ratified the willingness to strengthen, expand and diversify bilateral relations.

The Cuban Prime Minister mentioned some of the actions undertaken by the State to recover from the complex economic situation that the country is going through, as a consequence of the blockade imposed by the United States and the impact of the covid-19 pandemic.

For his part, Kishida thanked Marrero for his presence at Abe’s state funeral and stressed that his government will develop the diplomatic legacy inherited from the former prime minister.

Likewise, he lamented the damage caused by Hurricane Ian in Cuban territory and recalled his visit to Havana in 2015, when he exchanged with Commander in Chief Fidel Castro on issues such as the historic friendship that unites both countries, Japanese migration to Cuba and the common position against nuclear weapons.

The meeting with Kishida marked the end of Marrero’s visit to Japan.

The Prime Minister also spoke with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Saito Tetsuo, about opportunities for joint development in the tourism sector, as well as the business opportunities that Cuba offers in this area.

Prime Minister Marrero Cruz begins official visit to Vietnam

Marrero Cruz was received at the Noi Bai International Airport by the Minister and Head of the Government Office, Tran Van Son, and Vice Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc. Photo: PL.

On the second leg of his Asia tour, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz arrived in Hanoi on Wednesday for a three-day official visit to Vietnam.

Marrero Cruz was received at the Noi Bai International Airport by the Minister and Head of the Government Office, Tran Van Son, and Vice Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc.

The Cuban head of government will begin his activities tomorrow by paying tribute to the memory of the hero of Vietnamese independence, President Ho Chi Minh, in the mausoleum erected in Ba Dinh Square, where his remains rest since August 1975, when inaugurated

He will then go to the Presidential Palace, where the welcome ceremony will be held, and then hold official talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

Subsequently, the also member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) will be decorated with the Ho Chi Minh medal, in the last activity scheduled for the morning session.

In the afternoon, he will hold a meeting with the President of the National Assembly (Parliament), Vuong Dinh Hue, and then pay a courtesy visit to the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), Nguyen Phu Trong, before meeting with President from the Asian country, Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

On Friday the 30th, the prime minister and his entourage will participate in a Vietnam-Cuba Business Forum and then will meet with members of the state mission, Cubans residing in Vietnam and representatives of solidarity groups, before traveling to the southern Ho Chi Minh City.

There they will visit the historic Cu Chi tunnels and the High Technology Industrial Park, and will hold a meeting with government and political leaders of the city.

From Ho Chi Minh City, Marrero Cruz will travel to Laos on October 2, the second stage of his tour of Southeast Asia, the first he has carried out in his capacity as head of the Cuban Government. The tour also includes a visit to Cambodia.

Cuba and Vietnam evaluate advances and possibilities in medical and pharmaceutical cooperation

With Vietnamese health authorities, the Cuban minister and the officials accompanying him discussed the current situation of medical cooperation between the two countries. Photo: Taken from @japortalmiranda.

As part of the government visit to Vietnam, the Cuban Minister of Health, José Angel Portal Miranda, addressed the current situation of medical cooperation between the two countries and the implementation of actions in that Asian country in a meeting with officials from the Ministry of Health of the Asian country. ambit.

On Twitter, Portal Miranda reported that “together with representatives of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, doctors graduated in Cuba and businessmen, we then shared an update on cooperation possibilities in health.”

As part of the program, two memorandums of understanding were signed between the representative of the Cuban Medical Services Marketer in Vietnam, Roberto Baños, and Lac Viet Group and Tele Clinic, from the Indochinese country.

According to the Cuban minister, the delegation from the Cuban medical and biopharmaceutical sector toured areas of the Bao Son general hospital and exchanged with the president of the Bao Son Group, the director of the medical institution and several Vietnamese health professionals.

Likewise, he held a meeting with the deputy director of the Cuba-Vietnam Friendship Hospital, where Cuban specialists work.

As part of their agenda, Portal Miranda and the president of BioCubaFarma, Eduardo Martínez Díaz, among other members of the Cuban delegation, evaluated cooperation in the medical-pharmaceutical and biotechnological industry with regulatory authorities and Vietnamese businessmen who market Cuban products, a topic of mutual interest.

(With information from Prensa Latina)

The Cuban head of State ‘extended his heartfelt condolences to the government and people of #Japan for the unfortunate loss of human life and property damage caused by torrential rains in several regions of the country,’ says the diplomatic headquarters in its Facebook account.

Official data indicate that 201 people died, more than 30 are still missing, 160 houses were totally destroyed, while some 700 suffered structural damage and more than 25,000 were flooded in 31 of the 47 prefectures of the Asian country.

Thousands of troops from the Self-Defense Forces, police and firefighters continue to be deployed for the rescue and search of the disappeared.

At the same time, thousands of volunteers arrived on Saturday to the affected areas to support the recovery efforts.

(Prensa Latina)

Becali expects both to train professional athletes here, and to expand cooperation in sports; thus he met with Le Khanh Hai, the vice minister that handles Sports within the portfolio also in charge of Tourism and Culture, with promising results.

As in other countries, we evaluate the sporting chances that our Olympic Games’ athletes come here to train; therefore, we reviewed Vietnamese potential in several disciplines, its infrastructure and other conditions, Becali told Prensa Latina.

The Vietnamese are also interested in Cuban boxing and volleyball coaches coming to work here and we also talk about exchanges of visits by national teams, he stressed.

During his Asian tour, the president of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER) made a first stop in Mongolia, where he was received by the highest sports’ authorities of that country.

Mongolia is very strong in combat sports such as wrestling, especially in the female branch, and we want to take advantage of its potential. Also, in sport shooting and archery, a specialty in which they have a very advanced technology, he referred.

So we talked about the convenience of training our teams of these sports there, Becali said, and as we will do tomorrow in the case of Vietnam, we visited numerous facilities to see if they comply with the conditions required for it.

In addition, we assessed the possibilities of training Mongolian trainers from other disciplines in Cuba.

From Hanoi, the Cuban sports leader will travel to Tokyo on Saturday.

Apart from being the headquarters of the Olympic Games, he pointed out, Japan is very interested that Cubans are going to prepare there because there are many sports in which we are coincidentally strong, such as boxing, athletics, wrestling and, of course, baseball, that returns to the Olympic program.

Of course, in the case of baseball, our attention will be focused on complying with a strategy that guarantees our qualification, but afterwards, he said, there is a good chance that we will do a correct preparation in Japan, where we have players who are having very positive results.

In the Land of the Rising Sun, Becali plans to meet with the presidents of the Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games and of the federations of professional baseball, judo and gymnastics, as well as with the Minister of Sports.

There are four nations that are key in our training plans for the Olympic Games, the three already mentioned and China, but we will visit this one on a later occasion, he concluded.

(Prensa Latina)

The “problem” of his size to one side, the young boy who a year before, at the age of nine, was brought by community sports facilitator Juan Luis Yuri to the Academy in the neighborhood of Miramar, shone on the field.

He was so eager to play, that even the fact that there wasn’t a single glove for left-handed pitchers in the whole area didn’t stop him. Determined and full of passion, he would play with a glove meant for right handed pitchers; taking off to pitch, throwing faster than any of his right-handed team mates.

“If I’ve got this much energy now, imagine what I was like as a kid. No matter how many times they told me no, I would never give up,” stated Roel.

He played baseball throughout elementary and high school, and while studying to become a thermoelectric technician, perhaps the profession that most accurately represents his explosive and hotheaded character.

After graduating he played in four provincial tournaments and was finally picked up by the Academy. Then he participated in the Development League which was held parallel to the 48th National Series, debuting for Granma in the final of the event after the second World Baseball Classic.

However, he experienced another setback the following year: “They didn’t call me for the pre-selection, but I wasn’t fazed, it made me stronger. I spent all my time playing baseball and during the second provincial championship I was top batter, home run, force run and run scorer. I proved myself, and joined the team for the 50th National Series, and have never left.”

As first batter, Roel Santos has continued to attract attention with his fast, effective batting, looking to put the ball in play, even with just a touch; as well as for his fearless base runs and broad coverage of center field.

In seven years he has grown and so too has his trophy case, which currently contains three national titles – one playing as a reserve for Pinar del Río and the two most recent as a member of the Granma team – a Central American championship, and a Caribbean Series crown with Pinar del Río in 2015, all of which are proof of his consistent quality performance.

On his return from the recently concluded Caribbean Series, Roel spoke to Granma about some of the keys to his success.

“I try to keep improving, take something away from every opportunity. I’m the same old Roel, focused on winning, keeping the pitcher guessing, being an inspiration for the team, batting, running and fielding as if I were the artist of a show that I really enjoy,” he noted.

“I’ve perfected my skills to strengthen my base, make an extra run, score no matter what, and refine the positive experiences I’ve had in Cuba, Canada and Japan. I’ve improved on stealing bases. I stole 30 in the 54th Series. When I returned from Canada I had improved and after coming back from Japan I felt that I had matured even more. There they play fast baseball, focused on making contact with the ball, something you perfect with daily practice. I learned a lot in Canada as the athletes, members of the Triple A teams in the Major Leagues, like Jonathan Malo from the Mets, and Kalian Sams from the Netherlands, helped me. That year I stole 24 bases in the Can-Am and another 24 in the 45th National Series after I returned to Cuba.

Talk to us about your last attempt at stealing a base in Jalisco…

I don’t regret it; the team’s reaction was more one of surprise that criticism, because it didn’t mean anything, it neither drew us level nor put us ahead. I was annoyed that I hadn’t scored in two games. I didn’t want to set them up for a double play, I ran and was caught out. I had made it to base four times. When I don’t score I don’t feel good, because stealing bases and making it to the home plate is my job as first batter.

Have you considered cheating the plate?

I’ve wanted to and had the opportunity, but I’ve taken the decision not to do it.

Are you satisfied with Granma’s performance in the Caribbean Series?

This year it was great to show that our 2017 win wasn’t a fluke, but that we fought for and deserved it. That win and the championship where we faced Pinar del Río have been the best two play-offs, but the first title I won with Granma is my favorite, because it was the realization of a dream I had held for a long time and finally achieved.

Any interest from international clubs…

I was approached by three Mexican clubs in Jalisco, but I’m still waiting for an offer from Japan, where I hope to return to play that small, fast kind of baseball that’s so representative of my style. If I can’t, it doesn’t matter, I’ll continue playing, because I live for baseball, it runs in my veins, I never give up or tire.

(Granma)

The assistance package was formalized yesterday in Havana, with the signing of an Exchange of Letters between Japan’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kentaro Sonoura, and Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment of Cuba, Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz.

The funds will go toward purchasing garbage trucks, which will contribute to maintaining and strengthening waste collection capacity in the capital; and agricultural machinery for the development of rice seed production technologies.

As was reported, the financing is aimed, above all, at improving the environmental situation in Havana and increasing national rice production, a basic foodstuff on the island.

Both parties recognized that although much work remains to be done, the agreement will contribute to strengthening relations between Cuba and Japan, and represents a starting point from which to further expand cooperation.

In this regard, Rodrigo Malmierca stated that Cuba will do everything possible to ensure the success of these plans and enhance the ties of friendship between the two countries.

The Cuban Minister went on to note that the Japanese sponsored projects will contribute to the island’s economic development.

Meanwhile Sonoura, leading a delegation from his country to the ACS-AEC Ministerial Council Meeting, taking place today March 10, stated that these actions are important for consolidating bilateral ties.

He also noted that the next public-private Cuba-Japan Bilateral Cooperation Committee will be held early next year.

Both Cuban and Japanese authorities have acknowledged that the ties between the two islands, especially economic ones, are currently at the best moment in their history.

(Granma)

The meeting took place in a cordial atmosphere, during which the two dignitaries discussed the good state of bilateral relations and expressed their mutual willingness to continue working to expand said ties on the basis of existing opportunities, primarily in the spheres of economy and trade; as well as issues related to the current international situation.

The distinguished visitor was accompanied by Kotaro Nogami, deputy chief cabinet secretary; Eiichi Hasegawa, special advisor to the Prime Minister; Japanese Ambassador to Cuba, Masaru Watanabe; as well as other official delegation members.

Participating on the Cuban side were compañeros Miguel Díaz Canel Bermúdez, first prime minister of the Councils of State and Ministers; Salvador Valdés Mesa, a Council of State vice president: Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, a Council of Ministers vice president and minister or Economy and Planning; Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz, minister of Foreign Trade and Investment; Marcelino Medina González, interim minister of Foreign Relations; Carlos Miguel Pereira Hernández, Cuban ambassador to Japan; as well as other Foreign Ministry representatives.

(Granma)

Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz, and Japanese Ambassador to Cuba, Masaru Watanabe, signed the agreement in Havana.

The signing ceremony was presided over by the President of the Councils of State and Ministers of Cuba, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who previously held official talks.

According to reports at the ceremony, held at the headquarters of the Council of State in Havana, the donation is intended to contribute to the implementation of a project for the installation of medical equipment to improve healthcare services in Cuba’s main hospitals.

Earlier, the head of the Japanese government paid tribute to Cuban National Hero José Martí at the Memorial that bears his name in Havana.

Accompanied by Salvador Valdés Mesa, member of the Party Political Bureau and a vice president of the Council of State, Shinzo Abe laid a floral wreath at the monument to Martí. He also toured the various exhibition halls of the museum dedicated to the life and work of Cuba’s National Hero.

Shinzo Abe arrived to the island on the afternoon of September 22 from New York, where he participated in the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly, with the aim of strengthening relations and promoting a new stage of ties between the two nations.

Cuban and Japanese officials have recognized that this is a timely moment to further develop bilateral ties. The two countries signed an agreement on September 19 to restructure Cuba’s medium and long term debt, which will facilitate the financing of projects linked to the development plans of the island.

(Granma)

The visit follows on the high-level political dialogue between the two countries and will address opportunities for strengthening bilateral economic and trade relations. The scheduled agenda includes meetings with senior government officials of Japan and its business sector.

Díaz-Canel is accompanied by Deputy Foreign MinisterRogelio Sierra Díaz, and Cuba’s Ambassador to Japan, Marcos Rodríguez Costa.

(Granma)

There are even those who argue that shadow theatre is the precursor to cinema: the first method based on the reproduction of movements and actions on a screen; of course, using different techniques.

This summer (August 4-5) the Japanese shadow theatre company Kageboushi performed for the first time in Cuba – offering two free functions to the public – sponsored by the Japanese Embassy in Havana, Japanese Foundation and National Council of Performing Arts.

During a press conference, the event organizers highlighted that the performances are part of ongoing exchanges in various spheres between the two countries which share four centuries of friendship.

The Kageboushi Company, founded 37 years ago and the largest of its kind in Japan, has presented a score of works in more than 70 cities across 24 countries, while their current tour has taken them to another seven in Central America and the Caribbean, with this stop in Havana.

In the National Theatre’s Covarrubias Hall, too small to accommodate the vast interest of Havana’s theatre loving public, Kageboushi put on an innovative show, with scenes created using a combination of silhouettes, puppets, dolls, people, lights and shadows.

The three pieces chosen from its repertory are noteworthy given that they promote values such as gratitude, sacrifice, bravery and respect for one’s elders. The didactic quality of these universal themes is concealed within the magical and beautiful works, performed with admirable skill and technical ability. The pieces demonstrate that there is no competition with the latest generation technology if an ancient art form, such as shadow theater, is performed well.

This was evident in the three works enjoyed by spectators, many of whom sat in the isles, while others stood – to the envy of those unable to enter the hall.

Before the show, the company’s director Yasuaki Yamasaki, gave an explanation of the themes of the works, performed with the use of puppets and the actors’ own shadows.

The first piece, The grateful crane, is a Japanese tale dating back to the 18th or 19th century, about the feeling of gratitude produced by doing good deeds and the custom of returning a favor. A noteworthy feature of the performance was the subtle elegance of the puppets which took the form of a beautiful bird, gliding across the entire screen.

Next to come was The mochi tree, a story popular with all Japanese children, according to Yamasaki. It tells the tale of a fearful child who lives on a mountain and in order to save his grandfather’s life, faces his fears to leave in the middle of a cold snowy night, to go and find a doctor.

The superb synchronization of light and sound in both The grateful crane and The mochi tree, astound and delight. In the third piece, Raise your hand if you want to have fun! The performers use their entire bodies to create figures or images, such as ostriches, elephants, monkeys, giraffes, an octopus, squid, crabs, even volcanoes, trees, the famous ninjas, and a ballerina, who with graceful fluid movements set to the music of Camille Saint-Sans (which would later inspire Michel Fokine’s choreography TheDying Swan for Anna Pavlova), transforms into a swan.

At the end of the one and a half hour show, the performers invited a few children to join them on stage to create shadows using their own bodies.

The cast of Kageboushi was composed of 11 artists, including two musicians, whose dynamic performances enchanted the audience with this genre of theatre.

Given the resounding success of the show, it would be a shame if these two original and extraordinary performances by the Kageboushi human shadow theatre company were the only ones to be held this summer.

(Diario Granma)

After the presentation the students asked several questions about various aspects of Cuban reality: demography, culture, education, history, science and bilateral relations with Japan.

They showed special interest in the process of negotiations that is taking place for the restoration of diplomatic relations between Cuba and United States and the continuity of the policy of blockade that for more than 50 years Washington applies to the Caribbean nation.

The presentation also contributed to stimulate students of the School of Contemporary Studies to learn Spanish language and increase their knowledge about our country.

(Embacuba Japón)