Castries, Saint Lucia, Monday, November 29, 2021:– The Government of Saint Lucia promises to deepen its relations with the Republic of Cuba, in memory and honour of the late President Fidel Castro and the countless benefits Saint Lucia has received after 42 years of friendly bilateral ties. That’s the assurance Cabinet Minister Dr. Virginia Albert-Poyotte gave Saturday at a public event to observe the 16th Anniversary of the Saint Lucia-Cuba Humanistic Solidarity Association (HSA).
The Minister with responsibility for Labour and the Public Service spoke Saturday afternoon at a ceremony, organized at the Finance Administrative Center in Castries, which observed the 43rd anniversary of bilateral ties between Castries and Havana and the 5th anniversary of Castro’s death.
Dr. Poyotte, who represented Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, indicated she’d been asked by the Prime Minister to assure the gathering that his administration will do all it can to improve ties with Cuba.
The Minister, a long-standing trade unionist and former teacher who was President of the Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) and a Caribbean Representative of Education International (EI), said she had the support of the entire Cabinet in assuring friends and supporters of Cuba that ties with Cuba will be strengthened beyond the traditional areas of Health and Education.
The Minister thanked Cuba for having trained over 900 Saint Lucians in professional careers through scholarships to the University of Havana and for the thousands who benefitted from the Milagro (Miracle) Eye Care Program sponsored by Cuba and Venezuela.
The Minister thanked Cuba for the Henry Reeve Medical Brigade, currently assisting in Saint Lucia’s fight against COVID-19 and the Cuban doctors and nurses working in our Health sector, in particular the local eye clinic, now, at Owen King EU Hospital.
