Havana, July 17 (RHC) –- Cuban President Raul Castro met on Thursday evening with German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is on a two-day official visit to Cuba.

During the meeting, both leaders stressed the significance of this, the first visit to Cuba by a German foreign minister. They also exchanged views on the excellent prospects for bilateral diplomatic and business relations. World issues of common concern were also addressed at the encounter.

The talks were attended by German Ambassador Peter Rudolf Scholz, the chief of the ministerial cabinet, Jens Plotner and the German Foreign Minister's general director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Thomas Karl Neisinger.

On the Cuban side was Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, the General Director for Bilateral Affairs, Gerardo Peñalver, and Cuban Ambassador to Germany Rene Mujica.