DRC President Unveils Bust in Cuba

Havana, Sep 26. – Joseph Kabila Kabange, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), will unveil a bust on Monday, to pay tribute to his father and former President Laurent-Desire Kabila, as part of his official five-day visit to Cuba. According to the agenda, Kabila will lay a wreath at the African Leaders Park in this capital, to honor his father, who ruled the country from 1997 to 2001.

Later, Kabila Kabange, who expects to meet with his peer Raul Castro, will also lay a wreath at the statue erected to Cuban National Hero Jose Marti (1853-1895) at the capital's Revolution Square.

Also on the list is to visit the pantheon of Cuban internationalist fighters at the Colon Cemetery, where Kabila Kabange will pay tribute to those who died defending his homeland and the independence of African countries.

The president of the DRC, who is visiting Cuba for the first time as a head of State, arrived in Cuba on Saturday and was welcomed at Havana's Jose Marti International Airport by Deputy Foreign Minister Marco Rodriguez.

Graduated from International Relations at the University of Washington, in the United States, and Law at the University of Makere, Uganda, the Congolese statesman joined the guerrilla forces in 1996, which defeated the government of Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997.

After the death of his father in 2001, Kabila Kabange became the president of the DRC, which remained after the signing of peace accords in 2003.

In 2006, he was re-elected for another five-year presidential period.

Havana and Kinshasa established diplomatic relations on April 11, 1974 and develop its ties in an atmosphere of friendship, according to Cuban diplomatic sources.(Prensa Latina)