Petro (L) and Diaz-Canel during the ceremony at the Protocol Hall of El Laguito.
Photo: Marcelino Vázquez
Havana, June 9 (RHC) -- The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel, attended the closing of the third cycle of peace talks in Colombia on Friday in Havana, together with Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Commander Antonio García, head of the National Liberation Army (ELN).
In the Protocol Room of El Laguito, the ceremony of what is considered to be a historic day for the South American nation will take place, since after 36 days of negotiations between the parties, a ceasefire will be agreed for the first time.
The Cuban Agreements and their respective protocols, which will be signed on this day, also refer to the participation of society in the peace building process, and to humanitarian actions and dynamics.
"I am going to sign a paper that can mean the beginning of a new era of peace for this country", said Petro in Bogota before a massive and popular rally held last Wednesday.
In his official Twitter profile, Díaz-Canel affirmed that progress continues to be made on the road to peace in Colombia, sharing a message from his Colombian counterpart, who announced his trip to Havana and welcomed him to Cuba.
Petro was accompanied by Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva; the director of the Administrative Department of the Presidency, Carlos Ramón González Merchán, and Senator María José Pizarro, a member of the national government's negotiating team.
The talks have had Brazil, Cuba, Chile, Mexico, Norway and Venezuela as guarantor countries. Spain, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland have been accompanying the talks. The special representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations and the Colombian Episcopal Conference are permanently participating.
Together with the local and foreign press accredited in Havana, representatives of some twenty media from the South American country are in the Cuban capital, with a view to covering the expected news: the signing of the ceasefire between the Government and the ELN.
