The statement was made by Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernández de Cossío here on Friday, when speaking at a tribute to Nujoma at the United Nations headquarters in New York, where the diplomat stressed the historic ties of brotherhood that unite the peoples of the two countries, especially the friendship that Nujoma had with leaders Fidel Castro and Raúl Castro.

“Death is not true when the work of life has been well accomplished.” This is how our National Hero, José Martí, immortalized those exceptional people who, like Nujoma, came to the world to leave essential legacies and works, the Fernández de Cossío pointed out.

He emphasized that Nujoma was “an indisputable African leader, who contributed to cementing Namibia’s international projection by placing it in the group of African nations at the forefront, in defense of the development of the peoples of the Third World, and of Africa in particular, for equality and justice.”

Furthermore, “under his leadership, the peoples of Cuba and Namibia learned to know each other, to work together, to share the sacrifices of the trenches, to build, strengthen and defend our respective societies on the basis of solidarity and fraternal cooperation,” he added.

In this regard, Fernández de Cossío acknowledged that the founding father of Namibia was a “fervent promoter of solidarity and cooperation with our country, and never ceased to recognize and appreciate Cuba’s contribution to the struggles for the liberation of Africa and the end of apartheid.”

He pointed out that the Cuban people and Government “will always be grateful for his unwavering support for our just demand for an end to the United States blockade.”

We had a moral obligation to be present at this farewell to one of our most faithful friends from the “land of the brave,” as the National Anthem of the sister Republic of Namibia says, he added.

The Cuban diplomat noted that “Nujoma is the African baobab tree that, with grandeur and endowed with immortality, will multiply in the young people who embody the future and who will forge the Namibia that he dreamed of and to which he dedicated his fruitful life.”

We will continue to carry Namibia and Africa in our hearts, for whom we will always build bridges of solidarity and brotherhood, as Fidel and Nujoma taught us, Fernández de Cossío concluded.

Convened by the Namibian Mission in the UN, the ceremony took place in the Trusteeship Council Chamber at the UN headquarters, where various speakers and messages were heard from the highest authorities of the multilateral organization, family members, representatives of different groups such as African, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, among others, as well as accredited diplomats.

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