Hamid Ansari to leave for historic visit to Cuba

Not wanting to neglect its interests in Latin America, India will send vice-president Hamid Ansari on a five-day visit to the continent later this week. Ansari will leave first for Peru on 25 October and arrive in Cuba on the 29th for the first ever VVIP visit between the two nations.

In what will be India’s first state visit to Peru in 15 years following President KR Narayanan’s visit to the country in the late-1990s, Ansari will meet Peruvian President Ollanta Humala. Ansari, who will be accompanied by a minister of state of the Indian government, four MPs and other officials, will inaugurate a mini festival organised to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“Economic discussions between the two nations is likely to be significant as Peru is one of the largest economies in Latin America and has one of the fastest growth rate in the region,” said Dinkar Khullar,.secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. “Discussions will explore ways to enhance trade and investment.” Trade relations between the two stand at $1.1 billion, he said.

In Cuba, Ansari will meet his counterpart as well as President Raul Castro. “This will be the first VVIP visit in the history of our bilateral relations despite our old and enduring ties with Havana,” said Khullar.

The visit comes at a time when Cuba holds the presidency of a group of 33 Latin American countries. India and Cuba will discuss areas of collaboration, such as biotechnology and sports. “We have Cuban coaches, notably in the field of boxing. We will see how this can progress,” said Khullar.