Havana, June 27 (IANS): Cuban government has agreed to send a team of doctors to work in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh, marking the first occasion Cuban healthcare professionals to have a presence in the Arab country, Xinhua reported.

The two nations signed a collaboration agreement in this regard Tuesday in Riyadh stipulating that the first group of Cuban doctors will arrive in mid-July to work at King Saud Medical City and Prince Salman Hospital, two of Saudi Arabia's most prestigious medical institutions, the Cuban foreign ministry said Wednesday.

The measure is part of the Arab nation's Medical Visitor Programme, designed by the Saudi health ministry to endow its major hospitals with foreign specialists.

With the presence of Cuban healthcare professionals for the first time, the Arab country "will benefit from the experience and progress achieved by Cuba in the management of public healthcare," the ministry said.

Cuba currently has more than 40,000 professionals, mainly doctors, working in 69 countries.