Ecuador Hails Cuban Cooperation
Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Francisco Carrion expressed appreciation for Cuba´s collaboration with his nation in health, education and sports, and said Ecuador is willing to expand this to other sectors.

Carrion, visiting the Island at the invitation of Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, asserted that his main goal is to reinforce bilateral relations and friendship with Cuba and its people.

I wish to convey this feeling of Ecuadorian friendship to Cubans and talk with authorities on issues of common concern, he said.

Welcoming the Ecuadorian guest, Perez Roque described bilateral ties as excellent and based on important similar views on the international scene, and told Carrion his presence is an undeniable proof of friendship.

Ecuador´s foreign minister had high praise for Cuba´s cooperation with Ecuador, especially the building of two ophthalmology centers, which were opened in the presence of Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage.

We are also revising the construction of a maternity hospital in southern Ecuador with Cuban aid, and seek to increase collaboration in this area, he said.

The visiting minister referred to Operation Miracle, through which thousands of economically-poor Ecuadorians with eye afflictions have been operated on in Havana free of charge, and he also mentioned the many Ecuadorian youth studying medicine free of charge on the Island.

The foreign minister said that Ecuadorian President Alfredo Palacio will attend the 14th Non Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Havana in September.

While in Cuba, Francisco Carrion is scheduled to tour the Latin American School of Medicine, among other activities.