The ambassador of the State of Palestine in Cuba, H.E. Mr. Akram Mohammad Samhan, who will soon end his mission as representative of that brotherly country on the island, was awarded the Friendship Medal.
This high distinction, received from the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gerardo Peñalver Portal, on behalf of the President of the Republic, was imposed on the Palestinian diplomat in recognition of his contribution to the strengthening and consolidation of the historic ties of friendship and solidarity between Palestine and Cuba.
At the ceremony, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Josefina Vidal Ferreiro, highlighted the momentum and consolidation of bilateral relations under the management of Ambassador Samhan and his diplomatic mission.
Vidal ratified Cuba's position of unrestricted support for a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, allowing the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination and to have an independent and sovereign State with the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, with the guarantee of the right of return of refugees.
For his part, the Ambassador thanked the Cuban people and President Miguel Díaz-Canel for their constant support in the defense of the Palestinian cause and for their contribution to the training of professionals in the medical field, despite the intensification of the genocidal blockade imposed on Cuba by the US government.
The ceremony also recalled the five decades of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which are being commemorated this year.
The award ceremony was attended by Emilio Lozada García, head of the International Relations Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba; Rolando González Patricio, president of the International Relations Commission of the National Assembly of People's Power; Fernando González Llort, president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, as well as other directors and officials of the Cuban Foreign Ministry and representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited to the island.
