Havana, November 21 (RHC)-- The honorable Peter Charles Paire O’Neill, Prime Minister of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, arrives in Cuba today, November 21st, on an official visit, during which he will hold talks with President Raúl Castro.

In the late 2000s, Cuba and Papua New Guinea began to strengthen bilateral relations. The Caribbean state provides medical aid to the Pacific island nation.

In September 2008, a Papua New Guinea government representative attended the first Cuba-Pacific Islands ministerial meeting in Havana, aimed at "strengthening cooperation" between Cuba and Pacific Island countries, notably in coping with the effects of climate change.

It was precisely in Port Moresby, capital city of Papua New Guinea, that the official ceremony of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the Federated States of Micronesia took place in September 2015, in the framework of the 46th Pacific Islands Forum Meeting.