Samia heads to Cuba to promote Kiswahili, health ties

Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan is expected arrive in Cuba on Wednesday for a three-day state visit that officials say will strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries, with a special focus on promoting the international use of the Kiswahili language.

During the November 6 to 8 visit, President Hassan will hold talks with her host, President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermudez, on new economic and diplomatic partnerships to address global challenges for mutual benefit, a dispatch said.

They will explore strategies to open up new avenues for cooperative alliances in areas such as health, education, arts, sports, tourism and the emerging blue economy, Tanzania’s foreign ministry said.

Despite five decades of US sanctions, Cuba has managed to build a public health system that is among the best in the world.

Some countries, like Kenya, have previously tapped this prowess, bringing Cuban doctors to Kenya to provide services to in previously underserved areas.

A major item on Samia’s itinerary will be her attendance as chief guest at the opening of the International Kiswahili Conference in Havana on Friday, November 8, the last day of her trip.

The conference, the first of its kind, has been organised by Tanzania’s envoy to Cuba, Humphrey Polepole, as part of an initiative to promote the use of Kiswahili in the Caribbean and South America. Some 400 people are expected to attend.

The two leaders will also launch a new Spanish-to-Swahili dictionary and a booklet of common sayings in both languages, produced jointly by the University of Dar es Salaam and the University of Havana.

A Tanzanian advance delegation led by Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister, Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, has been in Havana since Friday last week to oversee preparations for the President’s arrival.

On Monday, Mr Kombo met with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla for preliminary talks on diplomatic positioning.

According to the Tanzanian foreign ministry, Mr Parrilla hailed Tanzania for supporting United Nations resolutions calling for the lifting of the US sanctions against Cuba.

The Cuban minister also said the conference on Friday would support initiatives already underway in Cuban universities to make Kiswahili an integral part of their foreign language teaching curricula.