• Submitted by: manso
• Politics and Government
• 11 / 09 / 2010

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12:55, November 09, 2010. Cuba and Bolivia lawmakers Monday inaugurated the fourth bilateral parliamentary meeting, and this is the first time that the highest-ranking Bolivian parliamentary leaders have officially visited the island.

The meeting was chaired by President of the Cuban National People's Assembly (Parliament) Ricardo Alarcon, President of the Bolivian Senate Rene Martinez and President of the House of Representatives Hector Arce.

The Bolivian legislature is also represented by Javier Zavaleta, senators Adolfo Mendoza and Gabriela Montano, president and vice president of the Parliamentary League of Friendship with Cuba.

During the opening ceremony on Monday, Alarcon stressed the importance of creating "a parliamentary vision consistent with a democracy that truly defends the interests of society."

The Cuban parliament leader also thanked the Bolivian lawmakers for their solidarity with Cuba in its struggle against the economic blockade imposed by the United States since 1962, and their efforts for the release of five Cuban agents imprisoned in that country accused of spying since 1998.

The meeting will end Tuesday with the signing of a final statement on important global issues, according to the organizers.

The Bolivian parliamentary delegation is also scheduled to visit the headquarters of the Popular Power National Assembly of Cuba, and the Latin American School of Medicine in Havana, where young Bolivians study.

Cuba and Bolivia maintain close cooperation in economic, educational, political and military sectors. Hundreds of Cubans work as advisers in Bolivia, mainly in health services, while hundreds of young Bolivians are studying medicine and other specialties in Cuba.

Source: Xinhua