Cuba's Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas and Venezuela's Health Minister Carlos Alvarado reviewed here today the bilateral deals on health and explored new possibilities for cooperation in that sector.

 

In a meeting held on Friday at the Casa Amarilla (Foreign Ministry headquarters), the delegations of both countries reviewed the progress of the ongoing projects that make up the portfolio of the Cuba-Venezuela Integral Cooperation Agreement.

 

That agreement, stemmed from the initiative of President Hugo Chavez (1999-2013) and the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, will be 21 years old next October 30 and has been a priority of both countries since then.

 

The projects include actions of cure, treatment and prevention of diseases carried out through the Barrio Adentro Mission, in which over 20,000 Cuban doctors are currently rendering services in communities throughout the length and breadth of this nation.

 

It also includes the training of undergraduate and postgraduate professionals at the Hugo Chavez Frias University of Health Sciences, in Caracas, and the Latin American School of Medicine, in Havana, as well as other health programs.

 

Some 2,000 doctors from Cuba are providing services during the Covid-19 pandemic in Venezuela as part of the Henry Reeve International Medical Contingent brigades.

 

Cabrisas, who arrived in Venezuela on Thursday for an official working visit, is accompanied by Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Rodrigo Malmierca, Minister of Energy and Mines Nicolas Livan Arronte, and Minister-President of the Central Bank of Cuba Martha Wilson.