CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA May 28th, 1997 E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org The following items are taken from RADIO HAVANA CUBA's International Shortwave Service in English for Wednesday, May 28th, 1997. Today's stories: 1.- JAMAICAN PRIME MINISTER PERCIVAL PATTERSON ARRIVES IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL 2.- CUBAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER JORGE BOLANOS MEETS WITH VIETNAMESE COUNTERPART IN HANOI 3.- CUBA WILL BE REPRESENTED AT FIRST LADIES OF THE AMERICAS CONFERENCE IN SEPTEMBER 4.- CUBA'S COUNCIL OF STATE TO AWARD PARTICIPANTS OF THE LITERACY CAMPAIGN 5.- PASTORS FOR PEACE CONTINUES EXPRESSIONS OF SOLIDARITY 6.- UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND PRESENTS ANNUAL REPORT IN HAVANA 7.- CUBA'S TOURISM INDUSTRIAL FAIR -- TECNOTUR 97 -- GETS UNDERWAY IN HAVANA 8.- CUBA AND MEXICO AT THE NEGOTIATION TABLE JAMAICAN PRIME MINISTER PERCIVAL PATTERSON ARRIVES IN THE CUBAN CAPITAL Havana, May 28(RHC)-- Jamaican Prime Minister Percival Patterson arrived in the Cuban capital this afternoon and was welcomed at Jose Marti International Airport by Cuban President Fidel Castro. During his five-day official visit to the island, the Jamaican prime minister, invited the Cuban president, will discuss bilateral and regional issues with top Cuban government officials. An important delegation of legislators, political leaders and business representatives are accompanying Prime Minister Patterson during his stay. The Jamaican leader's visit is expected to open a new chapter in relations between the two Caribbean countries and strengthen the already excellent bilateral relations between Cuba and Jamaica. CUBAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER JORGE BOLANOS MEETS WITH VIETNAMESE COUNTERPART IN HANOI Hanoi, May 28(RHC)-- Cuba and Vietnam held talks today in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. Among the topics of discussion were bilateral relations between the two countries' foreign ministries. Heading the Cuban delegation is Deputy Foreign Minister Jorge Bolanos, who met with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam and Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Dinh Bin. According to Prensa Latina News Agency, the Cuban and Vietnamese officials examined joint diplomatic endeavors and bilateral relations between Havana and Hanoi. CUBA WILL BE REPRESENTED AT FIRST LADIES OF THE AMERICAS CONFERENCE IN SEPTEMBER Havana, May 28(RHC)-- Cuba has confirmed it will attend the Seventh Conference of First Ladies of the Americas, scheduled to take place in Panama next September. This will be the fourth such meeting that Cuba has sent a representative, after regional organizers allowed women government representatives to attend the event. The First Ladies and women representatives of more than 35 countries from Latin America and the Caribbean will discuss human rights and world peace during the upcoming conference in Panama City. CUBA'S COUNCIL OF STATE TO AWARD PARTICIPANTS OF THE LITERACY CAMPAIGN Havana, May 28(RHC)-- The Cuban Council of State will award participants of the 1961 Literacy Campaign with a medal commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the creation of the Cuban Armed Forces. The decision was made at the request of Cuban President Fidel Castro and Defense Minister Raul Castro. In a letter sent to the Council of State, the two leaders proposed to award nearly 100,000 people that voluntarily joined the largest youth army ever, 36 years ago -- teaching hundreds of thousands of Cubans how to read and write. The letter -- published in today's edition of Granma newspaper -- noted that the literacy campaign was a success in spite of Washington's invasion of the island at the Bay of Pigs that same year. PASTORS FOR PEACE CONTINUES EXPRESSIONS OF SOLIDARITY Havana, May 28(RHC)-- Members of the U.S. religious/solidarity group Pastors for Peace carried out volunteer work in the central province of Villa Clara on Wednesday. Pastors for Peace caravanistas -- led by Reverend Lucius Walker's daughter, Gail -- also toured agricultural areas of Santa Clara municipality. The 7th U.S.-Cuba Friendshipment arrived on the island on May 17th, after collecting tons of humanitarian aid for Cuban children -- in open defiance of Washington's blockade against Cuba. Most of the caravan's participants returned home last weekend, but a small group stayed on, organizing a work brigade and touring the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Santa Clara. UNITED NATIONS POPULATION FUND PRESENTS ANNUAL REPORT IN HAVANA Havana, May 28(RHC)-- The United Nations Population Fund has presented its annual report in Havana. This time, the U.N. report is dedicated to women's reproductive health and rights. The United Nations Population Fund's representative in Havana, Ariel Francois, told journalists that the report is an important tool in the hands of the international body to take action to help the ones in need. Francois also said that the report will also help preserve the island's achievements in the area of reproductive health. According to the report, more than 580,000 women die of pregnancy related causes worldwide, while nearly one million women die of sexually transmitted diseases each year. In related news, the Cuban United Nations Association will mark its 50th anniversary this Saturday. Celebrations include the cancellation of a commemorative stamp and the inauguration of an exhibition entitled "Children's Rights." The Cuban United Nations Association was created in 1947 to disseminate the principles of the United Nations Organization and to promote Cuba's participation in the international body. CUBA'S TOURISM INDUSTRIAL FAIR -- TECNOTUR 97 -- GETS UNDERWAY IN HAVANA Havana, May 28(RHC)-- The 9th edition of the Tourist Products and Technologies Fair -- TECNOTUR 97 -- kicked off in Havana Tuesday with the attendance of more than 360 firms from 15 countries. The nations with the largest representations to the fair are Cuba, Spain, Panama, Italy and Germany. During the fair, the Cuban Food Industry's Mechanic Productions Enterprise and Italy's Carbognani Group signed a cooperation agreement. The Carbognani Group is a group of small and medium-sized companies specializing in the construction of industrial plants in the area of food. They are currently operating in Brazil and Ecuador. The agreement includes the construction of food processing plants and training in the administration of small and medium-sized enterprises. Experts say the accord will allow Havana to put Cuban food products in line with European Union quality standards. The Cuban company and the Italian Group's first project is about to begin in Nueva Paz, located in the province of Havana. The project consists of a butchery and meat packing plant valued at 993,000 dollars. The project will allow Cuba to acquire advanced technology, increase its production capacity and clean the environment, since highly contaminating butcheries will be taken out of the capital, where residues will be used mainly as fertilizers. CUBA AND MEXICO AT THE NEGOTIATION TABLE Havana, May 28(RHC)-- Representatives from Mexico and Cuba are sitting down at the negotiating table in Havana exploring ways to expand bilateral trade and cooperation. Both sides have described the talks as fruitful and Marcos Durantes, representing the Mexican delegation to the business meeting, pointed out his country is ready to buy more Cuban products, specially pharmaceuticals. Meanwhile, Cuban representative Orlando Romero emphasized that talks will not only open the Mexican market to Cuban products, but will also pave the way for future investments. Mexico's Ambassador to Havana, Claude Heller, told reporters his country will abide by its foreign policy regarding trade with other nations, ignoring the laws aimed at limiting the natural flow of trade between foreign states. According to Mexico's Foreign Trade Bank, bilateral trade amounted to 341 million dollars last year, 318 millions of which were Mexican sales to Cuba. The Mexico-Cuba Bilateral Business Committee was set up in 1980 to foster trade and is made up of the Mexican Business Council for Foreign Affairs and Cuba's Chamber of Commerce. [c] 1997. Radio Habana Cuba All rights reserved Articles cannot be reproduced, reprinted or published in any system without the consent of RHC. 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