Pretoria, August 31 (RHC)—Cuba and South Africa are willing to expand cooperation in the higher education sector and and agreed on the relevance of exchanges in the fields of science and technology.

Those issues were addressed by the South African Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Blade Nzimande, at a meeting with Cuban Ambassador Rodolfo Benitez, a spokesman for the Cuban diplomatic mission said on Saturday.

The meeting between Nzimande, who is also secretary general of the Communist Party of South Africa, and Ambassador Benitez was described as productive and allowed assessing the growing links between the higher education sectors in both countries, particularly in strengthening academic exchanges between universities.

The Cuban diplomat conveyed the Cuban people's gratitude to the South African Communist Party, 'for its recent strong declaration rejecting the US blockade against the island and for the permanent demonstrations of solidarity with Cuba.'

Both parties also valued the excellent relations between the Communist Party of Cuba and its counterpart in South Africa.