. Photo: Yuri Díaz Caballero

Havana, Feb 9 (RHC) Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez welcomed the presence in Havana of Colombia's Vice President Francia Márquez, who arrived Thursday in the capital on an official visit.

On his Twitter account, the foreign minister welcomed her, and assured that the people of the island "receive her with affection and with the certainty that her visit will contribute to develop fraternal relations between both peoples and governments."

The Colombian vice-president was received at the José Martí International Airport by the director of South America of the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Carlos de Céspedes Piedra.

She will spend two days at the 31st Havana International Book Fair, inaugurated on Thursday, with Colombia as a guest of honor.

Márquez will hold talks with Cuban authorities, visit the Martin Luther King Memorial Center, where she will meet with members of ecumenical networks and popular educators, and will lay a wreath in memory of Cuban National Hero José Martí (1853-1895) in Havana's 13 de Marzo Park.

In recent statements, she said that this visit is a priceless opportunity to strengthen friendly ties and build alliances around common objectives such as regional integration, racial and environmental justice, gender equity, economic reactivation through tourism, air and maritime connectivity, culture, and peace.

The Vice President of Colombia stated that she travels with the same commitment of love and hope, representing a government of change, fighting for peace, dignity, and social justice (Source: Prensa Latina).