Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin on Thursday hailed his country's cultural cooperation with Cuba but said that it could be even more developed, especially in music, Xinhua reported.
The minister spoke after visiting the Cuban Culture Ministry's Musical Instruments Repair Workshop in Centro Habana. He said that the Irish Non-governmental Organization (NGO) Una Corda's cooperation project on piano repair with Cuba was a positive effort.
Workshop official Luis Felipe Vazquez said the project will have a great social impact on Cuba, and that it contributes to the recovery of the traditional piano tuner profession in the country. He aid the program will mainly benefit people with vision problems.
Famed piano player Jesus "Chucho" Valdez also praised Una Corda's donation, and proposed to help school programs that train piano specialists and technicians.
Martin arrived in Cuba on Wednesday. It was the first official visit to the country by an Irish foreign minister since the two countries established diplomatic ties on Oct. 29, 1999.