Cuba Counts on Spain’s Friendship

Spanish navy training ship Juan Sebastian de Elcano, named after the first man to circumnavigate the Earth, arrived in Havana on Wednesday morning for its 10th visit to Cuba as part of its 87th training cruise.

The four-mast ship fired a 21-gun salvo to signal its friendly arrival in port and was saluted by a Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces artillery battery at the San Carlos de La Cabaña colonial fortress.

Few minutes after the docking maneuver at the north jetty of Sierra Maestra terminal, the commanding officer of the vessel, Victoriano Gilabert, said: “My crew and I are very happy to be here. We always feel like home in Havana. This is a friend port and it’s also good to come back here.”

The Juan Sebastian de Elcano’s stay in Cuba coincides with the visit to the island by Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, who will arrive in Havana from Ecuador on Friday. The foreign minister is scheduled to participate in a number of activities with the training ship.

During the reception organized on board, which was attended by authorities and personalities from both Cuba and Spain, the Spanish Ambassador to Cuba, Mr.Juan Francisco Montalban Carrasco, expressed: “I’m pleased to greet the Cuban authorities on board, rear admiral Carlos Alfonso Duque Ramos, fellow ambassadors and commanding officer Victoriano Gilabert Agote.”

Mr. Montalban thanked the Mr. Victoriano Gilabert Agote for the magnificent reception organized on board and pointed out: “The arrival of training ship Juan Sebastian de Elcano to this port in Havana makes us feel proud, joyful and excited.”

“You’ve put in at this port in a historic moment when the whole world seems to be interested in visiting the beautiful and emblematic capital of Cuba.”

“We admire the pride and dignity of the Cuban people, we’re attracted by the spontaneity and cordiality of this people and we enjoy the tropical exuberance of the island’s nature.”

The Spanish ambassador wished good decisions and success to accompany the Cuban nation through the crossroads of challenges and opportunities it’s facing. “Anyway, Cuba counts on Spain’s friendship in such important times.”

Spain is Cuba’s third trade partner, right behind Venezuela and China, and with some 200 companies it’s ranked among the countries with the highest number of investors on the island, especially in the travel industry.