On 9 October, members of the Serbian Radical Party Deputies’ Group met a delegation headed by the director of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), Emeria Ceballos Amador.

The guests were welcomed, on behalf of the 80 Serbian Radical Party deputies, by the National Assembly vice-chairperson, Gordana Pop-Lazic, who underlined the successful co-operation between the Serbian Radical Party and the Communist Party of Cuba, and expressed her wish for that co-operation to intensify in the future. She specially emphasised the importance of inter-parliamentary co-operation, announcing that all Radical deputies had jointly moved a resolution to form a ‘friendship group’ with Cuba in the National Assembly in order to foster co-operation with the Cuban parliament.

The discussion focused on an exchange of opinions on the current situation in Serbia and Cuba, i.e. in the Balkans and Latin America. Ms Pop-Lazic told the visiting delegation about the Serbian Radical Party’s views on the most important national issues, primarily the referendum to confirm the new Constitution and the calling of fresh elections, adding that the Serbian Radical Party admired Cuba’s struggle against the new world order, and expressed her expectation that relations with Latin American countries would continue to be improved.

Mr Amador said that relations between Serbia and Cuba had always been friendly and consistent, and reiterated the fact that the recent Non-Aligned Summit in Havana had adopted a document requesting respect for territorial integrity of the world’s nations. He emphasised the importance of further co-operation between the two countries in all fields, especially economy, higher education, and healthcare, and welcomed the formation of the Cuba ‘friendship group’. Mr Amador announced the speedy formation of a ‘friendship club’ for Serbia in the Cuban Parliament, and invited Serbian MPs to visit Cuba.

At the close of the meeting, Ms Pop-Lazic asked the visiting delegation to convey her wishes for a speedy recovery to the Cuban President, Fidel Castro. She also asked for a resolution of the Cuban Parliament on the issue of the Hague Tribunal.