WELLINGTON, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Tonga's monarch King George Tupov V has expressed his wishes to strengthen bilateral cooperation with Cuba, according to the Pacnews report on Friday.

    He made the remarks while receiving New Zealand-based Cuban Ambassador Jose Luis Robaina, who presented his credentials to the monarch as Cuba's concurrent representative in Tonga.

    In the last three weeks, Cuba has opened diplomatic concurrencies in Fiji, Samoa and now in Tonga as part of its policy to broaden relations with countries of this region, where its cooperation is ever increasing.

    During their meeting, King George and Robaina exchanged views about possibilities to strengthen bilateral cooperation, especially in health, education, sports, agriculture and human resource training.

    King George recalled his visit to Cuba and the pleasant impression left on him by the Island's social breakthroughs, the quality of its ballet and culture in general and its impressive achievements in public health.