MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday spoke with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel to thank Cuba for sending around 1,000 health workers to help Mexico during the coronavirus pandemic.
“For this gesture of solidarity I will speak to the president of Cuba in a moment … to express our appreciation for their generosity,” Lopez Obrador said in his daily morning press conference, before the call.
Diaz-Canel, who became the most powerful man in Cuba upon ascending to the position of first secretary of the Communist Party last week, thanked the Mexican president on behalf of the medical personnel.
On Twitter, he said the conversation covered coordination in pandemic response.
“I expressed appreciation for his work for the integration of Our America,” Diaz-Canel tweeted, adding Cuba’s interest in expanding health collaboration.
Two of five Cuban COVID-19 vaccine candidates are scheduled to conclude phase-3 trials over the next few weeks.
“We provided an update on the vaccine candidates,” he said.
(Writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Grant McCool)
