CAMAGÜEY.— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermú¬dez, a member of the Party Political Bureau and First Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers, highlighted the province’s successes, challenges and prospects in regards to economic recuperation and the consolidation of the social achievements of the Revolution.
During an intense working visit, the political leader visited the Ignacio Agramonte y Loynaz University of Camagüey, whose rector, San¬tiago Lajes Choy, informed him of the positive results achieved during the process of integration of three of the province’s higher education institutions.
Fruit of the integration project, which aims to optimize the use of material resources and teaching staff, the new university today has 10 faculties and offers 44 courses. Díaz-Canel urged all affiliates to adapt the university’s priorities to the country’s new perspectives and share the experience with other provinces, which in the future should apply a similar integration process to their universities.
Accompanied by Jorge Luis Tapia Fonseca, first secretary of the Party Provincial Committee in Camagüey, and Isabel González Cár¬denas, current president of the Provincial Assembly of People’s Power, Díaz-Canel also toured the Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Center’s production and development areas. In an animated exchange with Jesús Zamora Sánchez, the Center’s director, Díaz-Canel was informed of the institutions main scientific-productive accomplishments, achieved through integration, the consequent development of a complete research-production cycle, and active, well structured export management.
The First Vice President showed special interest in the advances made in the development of a therapeutic vaccine to combat prostate cancer, still in the clinical trials phase to determine its effectiveness and impact in relation to other medicines already on the market. After highlighting the achievements and productivity of the small scientific team of 128 employees, Díaz-Canel called on workers to continue efforts to diversify projects and markets, become a genuine advanced technology entity and, by doing so, contribute to consolidating Cuban biotechnological prestige.
The Vice President’s working visit included a stop at the Vi¬centina de la Torre Arts Academy which, for 14 years has specialized in classical ballet, theatre and visual arts training for children and adolescents of the country’s central-eastern region. During his tour of the provincial capital, Díaz-Canel also noted the quality of community works realized for the 500th anniversary of the former Villa de Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe, such as the Recreation Center, Lake of Dreams and the so called Street of the Swans. In addition, he held a meeting with media directors and a delegation of journalists from the area, about the role of the press in current Cuban society and relationships with informative sources.
