-DATE- 19740226 -YEAR- 1974 -DOCUMENT_TYPE- MEETING -AUTHOR- F. CASTRO -HEADLINE- HONECKER, CASTRO SIGN AGREEMENT -PLACE- PALACE OF THE REVOLUTION -SOURCE- EAST BERLIN ADN INTL. -REPORT_NBR- FBIS -REPORT_DATE- 19740227 -TEXT- Honecker, Castro Sign Agreement East Berlin ADN International Service in German 2019 GMT 26 Feb 74 L [Text] Havana--Erich Honecker, first secretary of the SED Central Committee and Fidel Castro, first secretary of the Cuban Communist Party Central signed this afternoon in the Palace of the Revolution in Havana a "declaration on the strengthening of friendship and the deepening of cooperation between the GDR and the Cuban Republic." Erich Honecker and Fidel Castro also signed an "agreement on cooperation between the German SED and the Cuban Communist Party for the years 1974-75." The official negotiations between the two party and government delegations, which took place in an atmosphere of fraternal unity and complete unanimity, were concluded before the signing ceremony. The wood-panelled hall with a Lenin bust at the front was illuminated by the lights of the camera team, when members of the party and government delegations headed by Erich Honecker and Fidel Castro lined up before the flags of the two states. Horst Sindermann and Dr Osvaldo Dorticos were the first to sign the government agreements and accord on cooperation in the building industry. Then Erich Honecker and Fidel Castro sat down at the table. They signed the declaration and the agreement on the cooperation of the two parties. The exchange of the red folders with the documents was accompanied by applause. This was followed by a cordial embrace. Then the two first secretaries firmly shook hands. Immediately after the signing ceremony, the GDR delegation left for the airport. -END-