PALIKIR, POHNPEI. March 01, 2019– On February 25, 2019, Vice Speaker Esmond B. Moses welcomed to the Nation’s Congress, the newly accredited Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to the Federated States of Micronesia, His Excellency Carlos Manuel Rojas Lago.
Vice Speaker Moses welcomed the Ambassador to the Nation and especially to the Legislative Branch and encouraged him to visit the interesting cultures and states that collectively make up the FSM. The Vice Speaker expressed his hopes that the Ambassador’s new post to the two countries can further strengthen their relationship through cooperation and collaboration on issues of mutual interest and concerns.
Ambassador Lago reassured Vice Speaker Moses of his country’s wishes to strengthen a close working relationship between the two governments, especially on issues of mutual interest.
While the discussions touched on various areas of mutual interest, the Cuban Medical Internationalism was of particular interest to the FSM. The Cuban Medical Internationalism is a program of sending Cuban medical personnel overseas, particularly to Latin, Central America, and more recently Oceania, and of bringing medical students and patients to Cuba. Cuba provides more medical personnel to the developing world than all the G8 countries combined and has a doctor to patient ratio of 1 to 200. The Cuban missions have had substantial positive local impact on the populations served.
At the end of the meeting, Vice Speaker Moses hoped that Cuba would extend its medical program to the FSM in addition to allowing its citizens to be medically trained in Cuba.
Earlier that morning, the Ambassador had presented his credentials to President Peter M. Christian as his country’s first representative to the FSM. The FSM and Cuba had established diplomatic relations on September 09, 2015.
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