Cuba and Ecuador have pledged to enhance bilateral relations, the official Granma newspaper reported Saturday.

In their talks on Friday, Cuban leader Raul Castro and Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa praised the excellent state of bilateral ties and expressed their willingness to further the relationship, said the paper.

Correa said he also met former Cuban leader Fidel Castro and talked with him for more than two hours.

Correa arrived in the city of Santiago de Cuba, about 900 km southeast of Havana, for a visit to Cuba on Friday afternoon. In Santiago de Cuba he inspected construction work to build houses for the victims of Hurricane Sandy with the help of Ecuadorian military engineers.

The storm hit eastern Cuba in October 2012, leaving 11 people dead and more than a million houses destroyed.

Cuba and Ecuador established diplomatic relations in 1903, which were interrupted in 1962 and restored in 1979.

Both nations have strengthened cooperation since 2009, when they signed agreements in the fields of health, education, agriculture, sports and energy.

Under these cooperation agreements, 235 Cuban doctors and 55 education staff are working in Ecuador, while Cuban universities have trained more than 2,270 Ecuadorian doctors and 383 young students.