Cuba's President Raul Castro has arrived in Venezuela at the start of
his first overseas trip as president.
The Cuban leader, 77, took over the presidency from his brother, Fidel
Castro, earlier this year.
He is meeting Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez, a key ally of
the communist-run island state and a long-time admirer of Fidel Castro.
Raul Castro was due to visit the tomb of Venezuelan independence hero,
Simon Bolivar, and sign bilateral deals.
Welcoming the Cuban leader, Mr Chavez described Mr Castro as one of the
heroes of Cuba's revolution.
The visit comes only a few weeks ahead of the 50th anniversary of the
revolution, and Mr Chavez has said this trip carries "the same
importance" as Fidel Castro's first international visit - also to
Venezuela - after claiming victory in 1959.
"We give you the most fervent welcome," Mr Chavez told his visitor.
"You, one of the men behind the great Cuban revolution. Your visit is an
honour for us, Raul. We receive you and with you Fidel Castro and the
Cuban people."
Bilateral ties
Mr Castro spoke of his previous visits to Venezuela as a student admirer
of Bolivar, known as "the liberator" for his exploits in securing
independence from Spain for Venezuela and other Latin American nations.
"We arrived in Caracas and before doing anything else we went to pay
homage to the liberator, Simon Bolivar," he said of his visit as a
younger man.
"Today, we shall do the same and I bring a greeting to all the
Venezuelan people, an embrace from the Cuban people and the chief of the
revolution, comrade Fidel Castro."
Aside from the symbolic nature of the visit, the two leaders are likely
to discuss joint strategies to combat the global economic crisis,
particularly the low oil price.
Cuba receives around 100,000 barrels of Venezuelan oil every day under a
regional economic arrangement.
Ahead of the visit, the two men announced over 300 joint projects in
health, education, culture and sport - all of it using Cuban expertise
paid for by cheap Venezuelan oil, says the BBC's Will Grant, in Venezuela.
The two men are also expected to discuss Mr Chavez's campaign to change
the constitution in Venezuela in order to allow him to stand for office
as often as he likes.
But this visit is likely to be as much about symbolic gestures as
anything else ahead of key anniversaries for both countries, our
correspondent says.
Mr Chavez marks 10 years in office as president in February.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/7781873.stm
Published: 2008/12/13 18:52:08 GMT
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