By IANS
Cienfuegos (Cuba) : Visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said he had wide ranging discussions with Cuban leader Fidel Castro over issues like strategy and international economy and the talks were “very emotional”.
“We spoke for more than two hours and talked about strategy, tactics, the world economy,” Chavez said in a statement, Spain’s EFE news agency reported Sunday.
The Venezuelan leader met his ideological mentor Thursday for the first time after the later reportedly said he was not interested to remain in power.
Chavez said, “It was a very deep, very emotional conversation with Fidel, my political father and the father of all revolutionary men and women.”
Castro also hailed the Venezuelan president for his visit and support to him.
Thursday’s meeting was the first personal encounter of the two friends and strong political allies since the defeat of the Venezuelan president in a referendum on constitutional reform for his country.
Chavez is Castro’s closest ally and, partly because of the octogenarian’s illness, has emerged as the region’s most vehement critic of US foreign policy.
It was Chavez’s third trip to Cuba in the past two months. During his visit, he also inaugurated the Camilo Cienfuegos Refinery here.