Cuban foreign minister to arrive in New Delhi on Wednesday

Roque, who comes in New Delhi on a two-day visit, will be accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister Marcos Rodrigues Costa and senior officials.

Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque comes on his first visit to India on Wednesday that is expected to energise "historic and friendly" ties between the two countries.

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Roque, who comes in New Delhi on a two-day visit, will be accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister Marcos Rodrigues Costa and senior officials.

He will meet Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma and will also call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In these meetings, there will be discussions for strengthening of bilateral relations, which are historical and friendly, the external affairs ministry said on Tuesday while announcing Roque's visit.

Issues relating to the Non-Aligned Movement are likely to figure in Roque's discussions with Manmohan Singh. The prime minister attended the NAM summit in Havana in September last year where Cuba took over the chair of the NAM.

Energy ties between India and Cuba are poised for expansion with the Cuban government awarding two offshore oil exploration blocs directly and another six blocs as part of a consortium to ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), which is the overseas arm of India's hydro-carbon prospecting major Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.