The Minister of Higher Education (MES) of Cuba, Walter Baluja, arrived today in Panama at the head of a delegation from the island that will attend the inauguration of the president-elect, José Raúl Mulino.
Baluja and the delegation also received greetings from the current Panamanian foreign minister, Janaina Tewaney, a meeting in which the parties ratified the historic ties that unite both countries.
As part of its first activities, the Caribbean delegation will pay tribute to the National Hero José Martí, with the placement of a wreath at the bust that perpetuates his memory in the emblematic Belisario Porras park, in this capital.
In addition to the formal events, the visitors will exchange ideas with the staff of the state mission, meet with authorities from higher education centers, participate in an act of solidarity with Cuba and tour places of economic and social interest in the isthmus, according to the planned agenda.
Mulino’s inauguration will take place at noon next Monday at the Atlapa Convention Center in the capital, after the National Assembly (AN, unicameral parliament) is installed at the Justo Arosemena Palace (legislative headquarters).
In both ceremonies, the new ruler is expected to intervene, after the presentation of the AN board of directors and once the presidential sash, made by the renowned Colombian tailor, Luis Abel Delgado, is placed on him. The organizing committee of the transfer indicated that heads of state or government, chancellors, ministers, international organizations and other authorities from more than twenty nations have confirmed their attendance at these ceremonies.
The official programme includes the arrival and reception of delegations on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 June 2024.
Tomorrow, the outgoing president of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo, will offer a State Dinner in honor of the Heads of State or Government and Representatives of Reigning Houses.
For her part, Foreign Minister Janaina Tewaney will be waiting in reception for delegations not headed by dignitaries, during which the respective Credential Letters for the Acts of Transmission of Command for the period 2024-2029 will be received through the General Directorate of State Protocol and Ceremony.
