President Jacob Zuma stated that the relation between Cuba and South Africa goes beyond merely friendship, "we are also brothers in arms".
Zuma held a private meeting with The Cuban Five (five Cubans who were fighting terrorism and were arrested and given harsh prison sentences in the US) before the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the Freedom Charter proclamation.
"We cannot forget history", President Zuma said while referring to Cubas role in Africas liberation movement, especially in the elimination of the Apartheid.
"It was thanks to Cuba that our own freedom () was closer", he remarked. "There was a before and after the Cuito Cuanavale battle (1988)", the leader said.
He recognized that Cubans have a great heart, which has led them to succeed in everything they do; being a small country, they have played the role of a big country.
He also praised the release of the five Cubans who were imprisoned in the United States for fighting terrorism and the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States.