Cuban President Raul Castro

Visiting Cuban President Raul Castro on Monday said Algeria and Cuba agreed to expand their cooperation in the field of health, particularly in the domain of vaccines production.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Monday received his Cuban counterpart in his office in the capital Algiers.

"We have agreed on an agreement for producing vaccines," the Cuban president told reporters after the meeting, saying the two countries enjoy long standing relations in the health field, as the first Cuban medical mission was sent to Algeria in 1963, one year after the independence of the north African nation.

The Cuban leader started a three-day visit in Algeria on Sunday.

The visit, the second of its kind since 2009, would allow the two heads of state to exchange views on prevailing international situation, particularly in Africa, the Arab region and the Americas, a statement of the Algerian President Office said.