Fidel Castro makes rare public appearance near Havana

Former Cuban president Fidel Castro has made a rare public appearance at the Food Industry Research Institute headquarters near Havana, according to Cuba's official daily Granma on Saturday.

Castro, 88, participated on Friday evening in a specialized meeting on the subject of the cheese industry and "he participated in an extensive exchange (dialogue) with 19 master cheese-makers which lasted over four hours," stated the newspaper which also published four photos of the historic Cuban Revolution leader alongside the article.

The images of the revolutionary leader shows him at the front of the auditorium behind a table facing the audience. He is accompanied by the Cuban Minister for the Food Industry Maria del Carmen Concepcion Gonzalez.

The former political leader highlighted the necessity to recover "the productive and quality levels that were reached in cheese-making in the past."

The most recent image of Castro was from June 21 with the president of Venezuela's National Assembly Diosdado Cabello. In May, the former president received the French President Francois Hollande.

Castro stepped down from power in the summer of 2006 after a serious health condition that brought him close to death. Since then, Fidel's brother Raul, 84, has taken charge of the Caribbean island.