Departing Cuban Ambassador honoured

Belize and Cuba have had as close a diplomatic relationship as any two countries in the region. And over the last four years, the bonds of that deepening friendship took on a very public image, with the assignment of Regla Diaz as Cuba’s first ambassador to Belize. On Thursday night, friends of the departing diplomat, who also served as dean of the diplomatic corps, gathered at the House of Culture to bid her farewell. Prime Minister Said Musa used the occasion to bestow on Diaz the Meritorious Service Award in recognition of her tireless efforts to advance relations between the two countries.

Prime Minister Said Musa

?Belize is grateful for the work you have done here during your tenure as Ambassador. You have done your country proud. You have not only furthered the cooperation efforts between our countries, but at the same time you have been very active as the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in working towards a more pro-active diplomatic community. For all this and being the wonderful person you are, Belize will miss you. We wish you well in your future career, and send with you our greetings and respect to President Fidel Castro.?

Regla Diaz, Outgoing Cuban Ambassador

?This is my first mission as Ambassador and I had the honour to open the Embassy of Cuba here in Belize. There are some different honours in the same person, with the same heart; really for me Belize is a special place. I worked with great pleasure. I worked very hard, but I work in duty, to make my duties here in the best way. I find a lot of friends in Belize and I find a nation with a great dignity. And for that reason I began to, since the first time that I had the opportunity to have my first conversation with the Belizean people, I find a great dignity in these people. For this reason, I began to enjoy my work here. And this order goes for the many persons who tell me that I am a very passionate person. But it?s not me; it?s Belize, the special charm who provokes in me, a feeling.?

Ambassador Diaz returns to Havana to take up duties at the foreign ministry. Her country’s major contributions to Belize’s advancement are the corps of Cuban doctors and nurses serving here, the large number of scholarships awarded to Belizeans to study in Cuba, and the availability of quality advanced medical treatment offered to Belizeans whose needs cannot be met at home.