Cuban invitation for President al-Assad to take part in South summit

The assistant secretary general of the Baath Arab Socialist Party in Syria, Abdullah al-Ahmar, on Tuesday morning received the deputy chairman of the international relations department at the central international commission of Cuban's Communist Party, Alfonso Fraga Berz, who is the special envoy for Cuban President Fidel Castro.

Al-Ahmar, during the meeting, received a message from President Castro sent to President Hafez al-Assad. The message stated an invitation to President al-Assad to attend the conference of southern countries' summit to be held in Cuba in April.

Talks dealt with the forthcoming conference, relations between the two countries and means of promoting them for the benefit of the two peoples to face the challenges.

Talks also dealt with cooperation between the Baath Party and the Cuban Communist Party, developments in the Middle East and negotiations on the Syrian- Israeli track.

AFP said that Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Tuesday received a similar invitation from President Castro to attend the south summit.

An official source in Algiers said that the Cuban deputy foreign minister conveyed the invitation of the Cuban President to his Algerian counterpart.

Some 77 countries including China are taking part in this summit, SANA reported.