Cuba leader meets with Paraguayan FM

Cuban Leader Raul Castro on Thursday met with visiting Paraguayan Foreign Minister Jorge Lara Castro, discussing ways of strengthening relation between the two countries. During the meeting on Thursday night, "they talked about the good relations between the two countries, expressed their willingness to further deepen their cooperation, and discussed other issues of regional and international interest", the official daily Granma reported on Friday.. The Paraguayan minister, who arrived in Cuba on Wednesday for a three-day official visit, said "this visit is the opportunity to strengthen the relations between both countries, adding Cuba is our model in many areas." Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, who also attended the meeting, said "this visit is a true impulse for the development of the bilateral relations. He also said "the historical and traditional relations between both countries and the interchanges between both governments make possible to explore other cooperation areas to support the regional integration." Cuba and Paraguay have close ties in education and healthcare as Cuba has trained over 900 Paraguayan students in its medical schools since 1999 and 499 Paraguayans are currently studying at Cuban universities. The Caribbean island also sent a team of doctors to Paraguay to provide ophthalmologic services to low-income patients.