Salvador Valdés Mesa, a vice president of the Council of State of Cuba, is leading the island’s official delegation to the celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Botswana. The Cuban leader will subsequently tour other African countries including Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Cuban delegation includes Deputy Foreign Minister Ana Teresita González Fraga, and Brigadier General Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez.