HAVANA – Fidel Castro met for two hours with the president of Cyprus shortly before Dimitris Christofias wrapped up an official three-day visit to Cuba, state-run media reported.

“Today, we had the chance and the pleasure of chatting with Fidel Castro. We did so for two hours and it was an experience of great value for everyone,” Christofias told reporters late Tuesday.

Christofias, who heads the internationally recognized government of Greek Cyprus and is the first leader of a European Union member country to visit Cuba since 2003, also said he held a “fruitful” meeting with his counterpart and host, Raul Castro.

Although he turned over the presidency to his younger brother, Raul, due to the illness that struck him three years ago, Fidel Castro remains the first secretary of the governing Communist Party, writes articles and relatively frequently receives international leaders.

In recent weeks, Castro has met and been photographed with the leader of the Chinese legislature, Wu Bangguo, former U.N. General Assembly President Miguel D’Escoto, and he has also been photographed with Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa and with a group of Venezuelan lawyers.

Christofias arrived on Sunday in Havana, where he inaugurated his country’s embassy and presided at the signing of eight cooperation agreements between Cyprus and Cuba in the areas of culture, sports, the economy, industry and technology, as well as in development and scientific research.

In addition, memoranda of understanding were signed between the Olympic committees of the two countries as well as on agricultural and energy cooperation. EFE