The president of Ethiopia, Mulatu Teshome Wirtu, said on Tuesday in the Cuban capital that his country will never forget the contribution of the Cuban Government and people in the struggles for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of that African nation.
When honoring, at the Christopher Columbus Cemetery, the combatants fallen in the fulfillment of internationalist missions, the president expressed the gratitude to the Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro and the soldiers who fought in those lands during the armed conflict with Somalia, in the 70s of the last century.
The heroes and heroines of this nation, together with the Ethiopian forces, valiantly defended the country in a war that caused numerous losses of human lives, including those of more than a hundred Cubans, he recalled after placing a floral wreath in the Pantheon of the Veterans of the necropolis.
Along with the General of the Army Corps Leopoldo Cintra Frias, Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, and the Brigadier General (R) Delsa Esther (Teté) Puebla, the President assured that the Cubans fought heroically against the injustice of colonialism and apartheid in the African continent.
Teshome Wirtu said that both nations have the responsibility to defend this legacy of brotherhood, in addition to advancing in the strengthening of bilateral collaboration and renewing joint efforts in areas of interest.
He highlighted that Havana and Addis Ababa currently enjoy excellent relationships, based on mutual trust and interests, and that they work on development priorities in the sectors of education, science, health and technology.
Speaking at the ceremony, Teté Puebla, Vice-President of the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution, said it is a pride for Cuba to have contributed to that struggle, and reaffirmed that the fighters who fulfilled their mission in Africa, in particular, will never be forgotten in Ethiopia.
They are part of the solidarity legacy brought to its highest expression by the heroic guerrilla man Ernesto Che Guevara, and by the practice of the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, she said.
The combatant also thanked the Ethiopian people for the gesture of erecting a monument in the capital of that African country to the Cuban internationalists who had fallen in those lands, to pay tribute to their memory.
The ceremony was attended by members of the official delegation accompanying the president, as well as mission chiefs and members of the African and Caribbean Diplomatic Corps accredited in Havana, and Cuban fighters who fulfilled their mission in Ethiopia.
The official visit of Teshome Wirtu will last until January 12th, and its agenda includes a meeting with Army General Raul Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers of Cuba, among other activities.