DOHA, May 13 (News Agencies) - Cuban President Fidel Castro flew in to the Qatari capital on Sunday at the start of his first visit to a Gulf Arab monarchy, whose leader made a groundbreaking trip to Havana last year.
Castro was greeted at the airport by the emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, but made no statement to journalists on arrival from Malaysia for a three-day visit.
The Cuban leader was accompanied by a delegation of more than 100 members.
The Qatari emir's office has said Castro and Sheikh Hamad would discuss regional and international issues as well as the means to strengthen cooperation between Havana and Doha.
Sheikh Hamad, whose small country has the world's third largest gas reserves, traveled to Cuba last September on the first official visit to the communist state by a Gulf leader.
The two countries agreed on April 1st to form a joint committee to boost links, at the end of a visit to Doha by Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque. Their diplomatic ties date back to December 1989.
Apart from Malaysia, Castro has also visited Algeria and Iran on his tour. Along with Cuba, all three countries belong to the Group of 77 developing nations.
