Staff Writer
President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez of Cuba has expressed has hailed President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s support in the country’s quest to be removed from a list of State sponsors of terrorism by the United States.
President Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said this during a meeting with President Mnangagwa’s Special Envoy on the Museum of African Liberation, Ambassador Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana on Wednesday.
Ambassador Mumbengegwi is in Havana to deliver a special message from President Mnangagwa to President Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, and to take receipt of a donation of historical artefacts from Cuba to the Museum of African Liberation.
President Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said Cuba valued Zimbabwe’s support on the international stage, pointing out how both countries had suffered under illegal American sanctions.
This week, outgoing United States President Joe Biden announced Cuba’s removal from a list of countries and organisations it claims sponsor terrorism.
President Díaz-Canel Bermúdez told Ambassador Mumbengegwi that, “This is a victory for the Cuban people, but we also share it with friends like you, who have supported us internationally.”
He expressed his commitment to expanding and strengthening historically strong ties with Zimbabwe, and to broaden collaboration, and also handed over a gift for President Mnangagwa.
Ambassador Mumbengegwi said it was “a great honour to be before you, to be holding these conversations with you”, highlighting that the Cuban leader had “always been available to us when we have requested it, which underlines the nature and character of our relations since the early days of our liberation struggle”.
The Special Envoy added: “Cuba was the smallest country from a geographical perspective, yet it contributed the most to our liberation struggle.”
President Díaz-Canel Bermúdez was accompanied by Mr Emilio Lozada García, head of the Department of International Relations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, and Deputy Foreign Minister Elio Rodríguez Perdomo, among other officials.
In Ambassador Mumbengegwi’s delegation were Deputy Chief Secretary (Finance, Administration and Human Resources) in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Mr Zvinechimwe Churu; Brigadier-General Million Ndlovu from the Zimbabwe Defence Forces; and the Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of African Knowledge (INSTAK), Ambassador Kwame Muzawazi.
Earlier in the day, Ambassador Mumbengegwi took receipt of artefacts and paraphernalia donated by Cuba.
The items will be transported to Harare, where they will be displayed in the Museum of African Liberation.
Among the artefacts handed over to Ambassador Mumbengegwi in Havana were two military tanks used in the famous Battle of Cuito Cuanavale in Angola and a military personnel carrier. Other items are four boxes of military regalia, historic documents, books, pictures and films.
Ambassador Mumbengegwi said a befitting ceremony would be organised “to receive this priceless donation” once the consignment arrived in Zimbabwe.
The Museum of African Liberation is the brainchild of INSTAK, and the Project is being implemented with the full support of the Government of Zimbabwe.
It is conceived as a monument to the epic struggle to liberate the African people from European colonialism and apartheid.
Cuba is one of three non-African countries whose flags have been raised at the Museum of African Liberation, along with China and Russia.
The Caribbean Island has space specifically designated for it to document its extensive contributions to African liberation.
Zimbabwe and Cuba enjoy strong ties forged during the Second Chimurenga.
Post-independence, Cuba has contributed significantly to the development of Zimbabwe’s human capital and health sector.
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