During his fourth stay in the Island, Gonsalves held top-level talks including President Fidel Castro and some Cuban ministers.

Gonsalves said Fidel Castro, with whom he met for eight hours, is an exceptional man that is very-well informed in all themes.

He added that his visit will broaden exchanges in the fields of education, health, agriculture and training of technicians.

During his talks with Cuban Education minister Luis Ignacio Gomez, the visitor requested help to continue a literacy program in his country that has brought illiteracy rate down 15 percent.

He also met with ministers of Foreign Investment and Economic Collaboration Marta Lomas; Tourism Manuel Marrero; Foreign Trade Raul de la Nuez and Public Health Jose Ramon Balaguer.

In talks with Balaguer, Gonsalvez showed interest in the Cuban health system, especially at the community-level.

St.Vincent and the Grenadines and Cuba established diplomatic relations in 1992 and created a joint commission to focus on bilateral links that are not restricted to trade exchanges, Gonsalvez told reporters.

There are Cuban doctors, nurses, architects, engineers and land registers working in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, while 150 youngsters from that country are studying in Cuba.

Gonsalvez met with some of them and visited the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, a facility he described as fantastic.