Havana,  (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel is celebrating on Friday his first year in office, he assumed with the commitment to give continuity to the Revolution of January 1, 1959.

Engineer by training, the 58-year-old president born in Villa Clara, central Cuba, on April 20, 1960, took office on April 19, after he was elected by the unanimous vote of legislators in the constituent session of the Ninth Legislature of the National Assembly (Parliament).

Diaz-Canel has carried out an intense working agenda with permanent contacts with the people, evident in government visits to the 15 provinces, participation in congresses of civil society organizations, international events and official trips to Venezuela, Russia, China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, France and the United Kingdom.

In all his visits, he sealed cooperation agreements and paved the way to future political and commercial exchanges, as part of the goal of diversifying Cuba's relations.

To strengthen ties with countries in the region, Diaz-Canel traveled to Jamaica in 2018 to attend the 39th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and in late March to Nicaragua, to attend the 8th Meeting of the Association of Caribbean States.

He also traveled to New York to participate at the UN General Assembly and met in that city with businessmen, politicians and friends of Cuba.

Less than one month after he took office, the Cuban president had to face complex situations, such as the May 18 air crash in Havana -in which 112 people lost their lives- and heavy rains and floodings associated with subtropical storm Alberto that left a few dead and caused severe damages in several provinces.

Solidarity with Venezuela and Nicaragua in the face of hardened US hostility has been constant in his speech.

Tourism, disaster risk reduction, trade, transport and protection of the Caribbean Sea stand out among the issues addressed in his visits.

Another tough moment of his mandate was having to face the destruction the January 27 tornado caused in several Havana municipalities, in which several people died and damages were severe.

He also played a key role in pushing ahead the process for the new constitution announced in June 2018.