CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org The following items are taken from Radio Havana Cuba's news service for Thursday, July 9, 1998. Today's stories: 1.- PRESIDENT OF MALI ARRIVES IN HAVANA FOR OFFICIAL VISIT 2.- CUBA AND PORTUGAL SIGN IMPORTANT BILATERAL AGREEMENTS; PORTUGUESE FOREIGN MINISTER WRAPS UP VISIT TO CUBA 3.- HAVANA BECOMES MEETING SITE FOR CARIBBEAN STATES NEXT WEEK 4.- TOURISM MAKES UP FOR LOSSES IN SUGARCANE HARVEST 5.- RENOWNED FILM-MAKER COSTA GAVRAS IN CUBA 6.- MEXICAN MAGAZINE AWARDS PRIZE TO CUBAN WRITER ON HISPANIC STUDIES 7.- CUBA SOLIDARITY ACTIVISTS IN ARGENTINA RECEIVED AT U.S. EMBASSY 8.- MADRID COMMUNITY PRESIDENT MEETS HAVANA MAYOR CONRADO MARTINEZ CORONA 9.- GUYANA AND CUBA WILL COOPERATE IN MACHINE INDUSTRY PRESIDENT OF MALI ARRIVES IN HAVANA FOR OFFICIAL VISIT Havana, July 9(RHC)-- The President of the Republic of Mali, Alpha Oumar Konare, arrived in Havana Thursday morning. The African leader and his accompanying delegation -- which includes the country's foreign minister -- was invited to visit the island by Cuban President Fidel Castro. During their stay in Cuba, the president's delegation will meet with high-ranking government officials and visit economic, scientific and cultural places of interest. CUBA AND PORTUGAL SIGN IMPORTANT BILATERAL AGREEMENTS; PORTUGUESE FOREIGN MINISTER WRAPS UP VISIT TO CUBA Havana, July 9(RHC)-- Cuba and Portugal signed three important bilateral accords during the visit to Havana of Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Jose Matos da Gama. With the signing of these agreements, Portugal becomes the ninth country of European Union member states to endorse such accords. The agreements include a bilateral accord for the promotion and protection of investments, an agreement to work together in the fight against drug trafficking and a third agreement in the area of culture. Portuguese Foreign Minister Matos da Gama wrapped up his official three-day visit to Cuba Thursday afternoon. HAVANA BECOMES MEETING SITE FOR CARIBBEAN STATES NEXT WEEK Havana, July 9(RHC)-- The Cuban capital will be converted into a meeting site for the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) next week, with numerous conferences being held at Havana's Convention Center. On Monday, the 13th, the Association's Committee of Administrative and Budget Affairs will meet to discuss concrete financial projects for member states. The following day, the ACS's Board of Directors will begin meeting in the Cuban capital, with the participation of Guatemalan Foreign Minister Eduardo Stein, who also serves as the President of the Council of Ministers of the Association of Caribbean States. Taking part in the meeting will be the heads of special committees, including the Committee on Science, Technology, Health, Education and Culture, which is presided over by Cuba. Participants will evaluate the work carried out since the Association's ministerial meeting held in Cartagena, Colombia in November last year -- and will also discuss plans for the next ministerial meeting, scheduled for Barbados this coming November. Sessions will continue next Wednesday and Thursday, the 15th and 16th, in Havana's Convention Center, with the participation of representatives from all member nations of the Association of Caribbean States. TOURISM MAKES UP FOR LOSSES IN SUGARCANE HARVEST New York, July 9(RHC)- Cuban Economy and Planning Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez has confirmed that the Cuban tourism industry and the island's economic diversification made up for the poor results of the sugarcane harvest and the tightening of Washington's blockade against the island. Speaking at a meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, currently underway in New York City, Rodriguez said that the growth in tourism, fishing and tobacco production made it possible for the island's economy to grow by four percent during the first six months of this year. The Cuban Economy and Planning Minister pointed out that over the next five years, the Cuban economy will register growth rates between four and six percent. RENOWNED FILM-MAKER COSTA GAVRAS IN CUBA Havana, July 9(RHC)-- Renowned Greek-French film-maker Constantin Costa Gavras announced in the Cuban capital that he is planning to make a film in Cuba. Gavras is in Havana to attend the commencement activities of nearly 100 graduates from San Antonio de los Banos International Film and Television School. In statements to reporters, Costa Gavras praised the school students' commitment to make films and improve the quality of their productions. The International Film and Television School at San Antonio de los Banos is organized and funded by the Foundation of the New Latin American Cinema. MEXICAN MAGAZINE AWARDS PRIZE TO CUBAN WRITER ON HISPANIC STUDIES Havana, July 9(RHC)-- The Mexican magazine Norte has awarded the Jose Vasconcelos Prize of Hispanic Studies to the President of the Cuban Academy of the Spanish Language, Salvador Bueno. The annual prize consists of a gold medal and is recognition of the overall work of each writer chosen for the prize. This is the 30th time that the prize is awarded and the first time it is granted to a Cuban intellectual. Previously, the Jose Vasconcelos Prize has been given to renowned Iberoamerican writers including Spanish poet Leon Felipe, Argentinean Jorge Luis Borges, Venezuelan novelist Arturo Uslar Pietri, Brazilian anthropologist and sociologist Gilberto Freyre and Portuguese historian Joaquin Montezuma de Carvalho. A letter sent by the Frente de Afirmacion Hispanica A.C., which sponsors the Norte magazine, says it awarded Salvador Bueno the prize in recognition of his long history as an Hispanic historian, as a professor at the University of Havana, as the Director of the Cuban Academy of the Spanish Language and as a founding member of the Cuba-Mexico Cultural Society. The awards ceremony will take place in Havana's Hotel Nacional on October 12th. The Norte magazine was founded in 1929 and is published every two months. The magazine carries historical and social articles. CUBA SOLIDARITY ACTIVISTS IN ARGENTINA RECEIVED AT U.S. EMBASSY Buenos Aires, July 9(RHC)-- The Cuba Solidarity Coordinating Movement demanded the lifting of the U.S. blockade against Cuba during a meeting with officials at the U.S. embassy in the Argentinean capital. Representatives of the Cuba solidarity organization handed over a petition with some eight thousand signatures to U.S. labor attache Richard Hagen. The petition demands an end to economic sanctions imposed by Washington upon the Cuban people and an end to the Helm-Burton Law, aimed at further tightening the U.S. economic blockade. Observers say that the 45-minute meeting at the U.S diplomatic mission in Buenos Aires was respectful and that Hagen politely listened to the visitors' arguments on the blockade's unjust nature. The meeting was attended by Deputy Marcela Bordenave and Movement coordinators Manuel Edelman and Jose Maria Cardo. The Argentinean press called the encounter at the U.S. embassy in Buenos Aires "unprecedented." MADRID COMMUNITY PRESIDENT MEETS HAVANA MAYOR CONRADO MARTINEZ CORONA Madrid, July 9(RHC)-- Havana Mayor Conrado Martinez Corona met with his Spanish counterpart, the President of the Community of Madrid -- the Spanish capital's municipal government -- Alberto Ruiz Gallardon. The two mayors discussed bilateral cooperation projects. Martinez Corona is attending the 24th Congress of Iberoamerican Organization of Inter-municipal Cooperation, OICI, currently underway in Guadalajara, in downtown Madrid. At the congress, Cuba was selected Vice President of OICI and a resolution was passed condemning Washington's blockade of Cuba. The Mayor of Havana said that during these years of economic crisis in Cuba, inter-municipal cooperation with the Cuban capital has played an outstanding role and stressed that Spain has led in that effort. During his stay in Spain, Martinez Corona has visited several cities including San Sebastian -- with which the Cuban capital signed a sister-city agreement -- Barcelona, Santiago de Compostela, Bilbao and Gijon. GUYANA AND CUBA WILL COOPERATE IN MACHINE INDUSTRY Georgetown, July 9(RHC)-- Cuban and Guyanese companies signed an agreement to renovate Guyanese factories in order to meet the needs of the local and regional sugar industry and other sectors. A memorandum of understanding on technical cooperation was signed by Claude Saul, the Executive Director of Guyana's National Industrial Corporation and Enrique Causa, Deputy Director of Cuba's Union Mecanica. The agreement includes the transfer of technology and technical assistance. According to the daily Stabroek News, with Cuban support, the Guyanese Industrial Corporation will be in a position to improve and expand its line of products and cover all the needs of Guyana's Sugar Corporation. The memorandum establishes the interest of both sides in the areas of design, construction and manufacturing of engineering components. The agreement will also promote training, supplies and technical support. [c] 1998, 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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