Havana, February 12 (RHC) –- Cuban President Raul Castro and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Wednesday expressed their mutual desire to strengthen bilateral links in an official meeting held in Havana, the second stop on the Turkish leader's Latin American tour.

The Cuban president received Erdogan with official honors at the Palace of the Revolution and later the two leaders discussed a number of issues together with a small group of their ministers, local media reported.

"The two leaders reportedly spoke about the positive state of bilateral relations and confirmed their desire to continue deepening links and strengthening dialogue between the two nations.

Erdogan was accompanied by his ministers of Economy, Nihat Zeybekci; Agriculture, M. Mehdi Eker; and Culture and Tourism, Ömer Çelik.

The Cuban government was represented by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, Culture Minister Julian Gonzalez and Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero, along with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade, Antonio Carricarte.