Luanda, November 13 (RHC)-- Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos, on behalf of his government and people, thanked Cuba for its participation in the independence struggle and the subsequent reconstruction of his country.

Dos Santos met Thursday in Luanda with members of the official Cuban delegation, who took part in the activities on occasion of the 40th anniversary of Angola's independence. During the exchange, the Angolan president highlighted the historic friendship between the Angolan and Cuban peoples, forged during a time of war, when hundreds of thousands of Cubans went to Africa to fight alongside the Angolan people for the country's independence.

Cuban Vice President Salvador Valdés Mesa conveyed a congratulatory message sent by Cuban Revolution leader Fidel Castro and President Raúl Castro to leaders of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola and the Angolan people in general on occasion of the new independence anniversary.

Prior to their meeting with the Angolan president, the Cuban delegation paid tribute to Cuban internationalist fighter Raúl Díaz Argüelles and to the more than 2,000 Cuban soldiers who lost their lives while defending Angola's sovereignty and independence.