HAVANA, Cuba, Dec 9 ( ACN) Raul Fornes Valenciano, first vice president of the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation (INDER), received David Zobda, mayor of the city Lamentin of Martinique, to hold a meeting in which they agreed to increase cooperation between the two countries in the field of sports.
The distinguished guest visited Cuba with members of his work team to start bilateral cooperation in various sectors, in particular between Lamentin and Santiago de Cuba, which have enjoyed a sister city relationship for the last 25 years.
David Zobda stated his interest in the possible signing of a three-year agreement with INDER to study the prospects of sports development in his country and the launching of Sports for All, physical education, sports medicine, science and high performance and other programs.
“As a global social phenomenon, sports can provide many answers to young people’s problems and help everyone in Martinique feel good,” said the visitor. “We have good facilities, including the Olympic swimming pool, a sports palace to hold international events, a stadium for soccer and athletics, and in two years we will open a lodging center for 200 people, but what we need now is motivation to promote all this, so we count on Cuba’s interest in developing these projects.”
On his end, Fornés Valenciano ratified the willingness of the Cuban sports movement to support Martinique and to send a team of experts there to make a diagnosis that covers physical recreation and rehabilitation, as the first step to extend cooperation.
“And as you have requested, that INDER delegation will always include experts from Santiago de Cuba, as a sign of the fraternity between our two cities,” he said.
The director also remarked that it was an honor to have welcomed the Martinican delegation at INDER, which reveals that the city of Lamentin and its mayor’s office give a great deal of priority to the development of sports for young people and the population at large.