“Your visit is very important to us, at such a difficult moment,” stated Communist Party of Cuba First Secretary and President of the Republic Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, yesterday, welcoming a delegation of the Party of the European Left (PIE), headed by its president, German Heinz Bierbaum, insisting, "It is a courageous act to visit Cuba at such a time," when hostile campaigns attacking the Revolution have been escalated.
"It is a pleasure to welcome you and hear from you about the experiences you have had during these days," added Diaz-Canel, who was accompanied by Party Political Bureau members Roberto Morales Ojeda, Secretary of Organization for the Central Committee, and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, as well as Angel Arzuaga Reyes, deputy head and coordinator of the Central Committee’s Department of International Relations.
In his remarks, the President thanked the Party of the European Left, on behalf of the Cuban Party and government, for its longstanding solidarity "in our battle against the blockade, the support you have given the Cuban medical missions which have been in Europe, all the campaigns you have conducted defending Cuba, and your recent support to our vaccination campaign, with donations."
During the frank, relaxed dialogue, Heinz Bierbaum assured President Díaz-Canel that it was a great pleasure for members of the delegation to be in Cuba and reaffirm their solidarity with the people.
The Party of the European Left delegation, including its first vice-president, Spanish political leader Maite Mola, vice-presidents and other leaders of the organization, arrived February 12 and are staying through the 19th.
The PIE, a political group organized at a continental level, was founded in 2004 and includes more than 30 European political parties, all advocates of peace, respect for human rights and solidarity.
The delegation visited different areas of economic, social and historical interest in the provinces of Havana and Pinar del Río; met with officials of the Party Central Committee and the Federation of Cuban Workers (CTC), as well as Cuban legislators and directors of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP).
