PARAMARIBO, Suriname (CMC):

Suriname and Cuba have signed an agreement which a government official here says will strengthen cultural cooperation between the two countries.

Minister of Education and Human Development Edwin Wolf, who signed the agreement with his Cuban counterpart Abel Prieto Jimenez, said the pact would facilitate exchange programmes for artists and technical personnel.

"This will especially improve the mutual cultural development," said the minister said in a release.

According to Wolf, the signed agreement fit in with plans to modernise Suriname's cultural policy and was part of an effort being made by the two countries to explore the possibility of expanding cooperation into other fields such as literature, fine arts, drama and film.