Havana, November 4 (RHC)-- Angola's Minister for War Combatants and Veterans, Cándido Pereira, is here in Cuba to attend activities on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Cuba's 'Operation Carlota,' which was decisive to consolidate the independence of Angola on November 11th, 1975 and Namibia's independence in 1990.

A news note issued by the ministry in Luanda said Minister Pereira will attend all commemorative events here in Cuba, representing Angolan President Eduardo dos Santos.

Carlota was the name given to the internationalist mission carried out by Cuban revolutionary troops in Angola, fighting alongside forces of the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola against foreign invaders who tried to prevent the country's independence.

Over the 15 years of Carlota, more than 300,000 Cuban soldiers and some 50,000 civilians carried out internationalist missions in Angola, of which more than 2,000 gave their lives in combat.