Cuba-Venezuela Sign 62 Accords for 2015

The governments of Cuba and Venezuela just signed 62 joint projects for social and economic development in 2015, reported dpa
on Sunday.

The agreements seek to "increase the number physicians to expand the health system in Venezuela by training 518 additional specialists in Cuba, as well as cooperation in sports and culture, among other areas," noted Prensa Latina.

The Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca, and the Foreign Minister of Venezuela, Rafael Ramirez, signed the agreements Saturday afternoon prior to the tenth anniversary summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), which took place today in Havana.

Also arriving Saturday for the ALBA Summit were the presidents: Evo Morales of Bolivia, Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua and Ecuador's Vice President, Jorge Glas, among others.

The ALBA alliance is a block of nine countries founded in 2004 by Venezuela and Cuba in an initiative to counter the free trade agreements promoted by Washington.

The member countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Venezuela, while Haiti participates as a permanent guest.