SAN CRISTOBAL, Guatemala, August 4.— Guatemalan President Oscar Berger and Cuban Public Health Minister Jose Ramon Balaguer opened on Friday a modern ophthalmologic hospital, the first of its kind in Central America.

The eye care center, located in the northern municipality of San Cristobal, Verapaz, was named after the Cuban patriot Jose Joaquin Palma, a revolutionary that fought in the island’s wars of independence from Spanish colonial rule and who lived in Guatemala during different periods of his life.

Among Palma's contributions to his adopted homeland, was that he authored the lyrics of the Guatemalan National Anthem.

"I want to convey to the Government and the people of Cuba my most sincere gratitude for the medical aid," President Berger said in his speech .

When the ceremony began, the Guatemalan president wished Cuban President Fidel Castro a speedy recovery, calling him the great sponsor of the hospital, equipped with the most up to date technology.

He also voiced his admiration and recognition to Cuba for the opportunity given to thousands of Guatemalan young people to study medicine in Havana, where they get a sound training before their return to Guatemala to assist their neediest compatriots.

The Cuban minister of Public Health informed that 857 Guatemalan youth are presently studying in Cuba, of which 750 are in Medical School and the rest are studying Physical Education, Higher Education, Technology and other careers.

Balaguer added that 415 Cubans are presently cooperating in Guatemala, mostly with the Medical Brigade, which is credited with saving the lives of more than two hundred thousand persons.

He also mentioned Operation Miracle, now in progress in 28 nations of Latin America and the Caribbean with the objective of restoring eyesight without any cost to millions of Latin Americans.

Balaguer said Cuba is proposing that governments build eye treatment centers in their own countries like the one inaugurated here today, with the island helping with the transfer of modern technology.

The Jose Joaquin Palma Hospital can perform 40 eye surgeries a day, and is under the attention of 23 Cuban specialists, among them eye surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, laboratory technicians and optometrists.

Its geographical location is a key element as it is placed in a zone where the population is mainly indigenous and where medical care is most needed.