More than 170 Namibian students graduated in various disciplines of the medical field in Cuba last month.
President Hage Geingob says Namibia is fortunate to have Cuban health professionals extend their services countrywide.
Dr. Geingob hosted the visiting President of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, and his delegation for official talks at State House on Sunday.
Not only do Cuba's tertiary institutions train medical professionals, but its government also deploys Cuban health brigades to assist with pandemics and other calamities around the world through mutually beneficial agreements.
At present, more than 90 Cuban medical doctors are deployed at state health facilities across Namibia.
The island nation's contributions to healthcare, President Geingob says, are recognised and admired around the world.
"In the same vein, 49 dentistry and four medical students graduated in July 2022, and a cohort of 173 Namibian students graduated in Cuba in the field of medicine at the end of July 2023. We are looking forward to welcoming our medical graduates home and thank Cuba for continuing to provide training opportunities to Namibian students. I am further delighted to note that a group of Namibian youths is expected to travel to Cuba in 2024 to study mechanical and civil engineering at Cuban institutions of higher learning."
Bilateral cooperation in healthcare is just one of the strategic sectors in which the two traditional allies assist one another.
President Geingob says Namibia and Cuba agreed to uphold the implementation of the Aide Memoire-Points for Consideration for Economic Partnership.
Through this partnership, Namibia donated 147 wild animals to the National Zoological Park of Cuba to expand biodiversity and tourism within the Caribbean state.
"Let me assure you, Your Excellency, that the Namibian Government, through the Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism, will continue to collaborate for the general upkeep and improvement of the genetic balance of the donated wild animals."
Cuba's government has developed the concept of continuity, equipping young people to forge ahead with the ideals of its revolution.
This includes its relations with Namibia and other countries that were assisted by Cuba in their respective struggles for freedom.
President Diaz-Canel also commended Namibia's loyalty in maintaining the legacy of friendship, as cemented by Founding President Sam Nujoma and Cuban Revolutionary Leader Fidel Castro.
He says Namibia's consistency in calling for an end to the US blockade against Cuba is significant in the lives of Cubans.