Times of India.
May 14, 2001.
DOHA: Cuban President Fidel Castro flew in to the Qatari capital on Sunday
at the start of his first visit to a Gulf Arab monarchy, whose leader made a
groundbreaking trip to Havana last year.
Castro was greeted at the airport by the emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa
al-Thani, but made no statement to journalists on arrival from Malaysia for a
three-day visit.
The Cuban leader was accompanied by a delegation of more than 100 members.
The Qatari emir's office has said Castro and Sheikh Hamad would discuss
regional and international issues as well as the means to strengthen cooperation
between Havana and Doha.
Sheikh Hamad, whose small country has the world's third largest gas
reserves, travelled to Cuba last September on the first official visit to the
communist state by a Gulf leader.
The two countries agreed on April 1 to form a joint committee to boost
links, at the end of a visit to Doha by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez
Roque. Their diplomatic ties date back to December 1989.
Apart from Malaysia, Castro has also visited Algeria and Iran on his tour.
Along with Cuba, all three countries belong to the Group of 77 developing
nations. (AFP) | 