Havana, Apr 5 (Prensa Latina) Pakistan and Cuba are celebrating 70 years of constructive relations in 2025.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to Cuba, Shahbaz Malik, said in this capital that his country “greatly values and is confident about further strengthening those relations in the future.”

Ambassador Malik made this statement at an event held at the Vedado Hall of the Hotel Nacional de Cuba on Friday evening. He noted that Islamabad and Havana “have always enjoyed cordial ties based on principles of equality, respect for sovereignty, and non-interference.”

The two countries have supported each other in several international forums, the head of the Pakistani mission added at the reception, which was presided over by Cuban Domestic Trade Minister Betsy Diaz and Deputy Foreign Minister Elio Rodriguez.

Attending the event were the Foreign Ministry officials, other ministries, local institutions, and representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Cuba.

The ambassador recalled that 2025 also marks 20 years of the devastating earthquake that struck Pakistan in October 2005, which claimed many victims.

He noted that during that complex moment, Cuba was one of the first countries to send medical teams consisting of doctors and paramedics who stayed in Pakistan for several months, set up field hospitals and tended to thousands of victims.

Malik took the opportunity to “thank the Cuban government once again and the medical teams for their timely and invaluable assistance.”

The diplomat told Prensa Latina that some 900 young Pakistanis have graduated in medical sciences in Cuban faculties, and eight others are currently studying at several levels. Regarding Islamabad’s foreign policy, Malik affirmed that Pakistan deeply appreciates its relations with all nations, based on friendship and goodwill.

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