MADRID (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th November, 2019) Spanish King Felipe VI met with Raul Castro, the former president and current head of the ruling Communist Party, during his first state visit to Cuba, media said Friday.
The Communist Party's official newspaper, Granma, published a photo of the meeting, underscoring the historical ties between the two nations. The Thursday meeting was not on the official agenda.
The king arrived on the Caribbean island on Monday in the company of his wife, Queen Letizia, and acting Foreign Minister Josep Borrell.
The five-day visit is timed with the 500th anniversary of Havana's founding. It is the first state visit to the island nation by a Spanish monarch, which did not go unnoticed by the United States.
Borrell said the royal trip "did not please the US" but stressed that it was "necessary" considering the city's role in the history of Spain. Havana was founded in the 16th century and served as the Spanish Crown's "gate to the New World."
