On his Twitter account, the Cuban foreign minister extended his condolences to the relatives and close friends of the president, who died on Friday at the age of 73.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan became president of the UAE in 2004; however, he disappeared from public eye a decade later after suffering a stroke.

Since then he had ruled through his half-brother and Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, Mohamed bin Zayed.

The UAE government decreed an official mourning and flags at half mast for a period of 40 days, with work suspended in the public and private sectors for the first three days.

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