HAVANA (AP)--Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was to travel to Cuba to receive an award from the U.N. and inaugurate an international book fair in the capital, Cuba's state-run media reported Thursday.Chavez was expected to arrive late Thursday, with the ceremonies being held Friday. Thousands of medical students from Venezuela, Bolivia and other Latin countries as well as some 200,000 Cubans were to be present in Havana's Revolution Plaza when Chavez received the award from Unesco, the Communist Party daily Granma reported. -The latest visit will "continue tightening the solid and fraternal ties between both governments, and contribute to pushing forward joint programs that benefit our people and Latin America," Granma said.
The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, meanwhile, is honoring Chavez in the name of Marti, the Cuban independence hero held dear by Castro and his opponents alike.UNESCO says the Marti Prize, first proposed by Cuba, was created by the agency in 1999 to honor a person who has ``contributed to the unity and integration of the countries of Latin American and the Caribbean and to the preservation of their identities, cultural traditions and historical values.''Previous winners of the US$5,000 (euro4,140) prize, chosen by a seven-member international jury, have included Mexican sociologist Pablo Gonzalez Casanova in 2003, Ecuadorian painter Oswaldo Guayasamin in 1999 and Dominican historian Celsa Albert Bautista in 1995.
Havana, Feb 3 (Prensa Latina) Venezuela´s president, Hugo Chavez, who arrived in Cuba early Friday, will be presented today with the International Jose Marti Award, a UNESCO honor, at a special event at the Revolution Square in Havana.President Fidel Castro welcomed Chavez upon his arrival at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana. "A hug and a kiss to the Cuba I love!," said the visiting dignitary after stepping off the plane and embracing the Cuban leader.The International Jose Marti Order was created 1994 by UNESCO´s Executive Board on the Cuban initiative to honor an individual or institution having contributed to the unity and integration of Latin American and the Caribbean countries and to the preservation of their identities, cultural traditions and historical values.The Venezuelan dignitary came accompanied by Education Minister Aristobulo Isturiz and leading literary figures, who are attending the 15th International Book Fair, opening Friday, in which Venezuela is the guest of honor.Chavez is first attending the Fair opening at Morro-Cabana Historical Park and then will meet up with Fidel Castro at the awarding ceremony at the Revolution Square. Some 200,000 people have been invited to the event.
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