Manmohan calls on ailing Castro

Havana, Sep 17 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had a meeting late last night with Cuba's charismatic but ailing President Fidel Castro, who went down memory lane and recalled his long association with India and friendship with its leaders.

Official sources said the two leaders had a one-to- one meeting for 40 minutes from 2300 hrs to 2345 hrs.

The meeting took place at the office of the Cuban Communist Party, where he has met visiting leaders in recent days.

The Cuban President spoke nostalgically about his meetings in the past with then Indian Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, whom he knew personally, and recalled his conversations with them.

He also enquired about the economic changes taking place in India. In particular, he wanted to know about the food situation in India and whether the country was dependent on food imports.

The Prime Minister explained at length the developments in India since the economic reforms were launched in 1991 and Mr Castro, in turn, told him about the situation in Cuba, which is under a US embargo since 1962.

Mr Castro, 80, told Dr Singh that his country might be poor in economic terms but very rich in human resources.

The Cuban leader was also keen to know about India's achievements in information technology and energy security, especially in the area of non-conventional energy sources. He said Cuba was interested in learning from India's experience in these sectors.

The Prime Minister's Media Adviser Sanjaya Baru said Mr Castro's gesture in meeting Dr Singh at such a late hour, despite his health, showed the affection that the Cuban leader had for India. "It was a historic meeting, warm and cordial," he said.

Dr Singh was in Havana for the 14th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit. Mr Nehru and Mr Castro were among the founding fathers of the movement.

The two-day summit opened here on Friday without the presence of Mr Castro, though he was still elected Chairman of the conference.

First Vice-President Raul Castro is acting as President of the country while his elder brother recuperates from an intestinal surgery in July. The Prime Minister had a meeting with him, too, yesterday.

Cuba took over as Chairman of NAM on Friday from Malaysia for the next three years.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Algerian leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan are among those who have met Mr Castro in the past few days. He has not made a public appearance since his illness but in recent days there have been pictures of him on television meeting visiting leaders.

UNI SA DKB PM1058