Havana: After concluding a "landmark" tour of Peru during which four agreements were signed, Vice President Hamid Ansari arrived in Cuba, one of the founders of the Non-aligned movement like India.
It is the first ever bilateral visit by any Indian VVIP to the Communist country as earlier trips by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and others were in connection with multi-lateral events and meetings.
Ansari's two-day visit will see him holding talks with the Cuban leadership including President Raul Castro, but it is still unclear whether a meeting with Fidel Castro, the hero of the Cuban revolution is on the cards. Fidel has been in poor health and demitted office in July 2006.
Ansari will be inaugurating the Festival of India during his visit here.
He will also hold talks with Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, the first Vice President of Cuba. Bermudez is anointed to succeed President Raul Castro in about four years. Cuba shares India's views on democratising UN and expansion of the UN Security Council. Cuba supports India's inclusion as a permanent member in the restructured UNSC.
Ansari arrived here on the second leg of his three-nation tour. Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, and was discovered by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage in 1492.
During his "landmark" visit to Peru, India signed four agreements, including one on defence cooperation, to boost ties with the resource-rich country. The pacts were signed on Tuesday at the end of Ansari's three-day visit.
Two agreements cover an exchange programme in education and another a letter of intent for cooperation in culture. The two sides also signed an agreement to set up a joint commission to step up bilateral ties.
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