India and Cuba highlighted their historic bonds and the need to increase bilateral ties, while agreed on the importance of the forthcoming summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to be held in Venezuela, asserts the Prensa Latina news agency.

During a visit to New Delhi, Gerardo Penalver, Managing Director of Bilateral Affairs of the Cuban Foreign Ministry, met with Preeti Saran,
Deputy Foreign Minister of India and Ashok Das, assistant secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean, where they advocated the success of the NAM meeting, scheduled for September 13-8 in the Venezuelan island of Margarita.

At the meeting, Peñalver stressed the cooperation that exists between Havana and New Delhi in the development of renewable energy, agriculture, biotechnology and construction.

He recalled that Indian governments have always condemned the financial, economic and political blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba for over half a century.

The diplomat invited Indian businessmen to invest in Cuba, after detailing the advantages of the Special Development Area of Mariel and new laws on the subject, recently approved.