A military band played and an honor guard stood at attention after Morales arrived at Jose Marti airport for his first visit abroad since winning Bolivia's December 18 presidential election.
Castro had sent his private plane to bring Morales to Havana and after the president-elect stepped off the plane onto a red carpet, the two leaders embraced.
Morales, who has never hidden his admiration for Cuba's revolution, said he felt "joy, great emotion to be here." Wearing a red sweater, Morales referred to Castro as "el comandante" and said his trip was a gesture of "friendship with the Cuban people."
Morales' choice of Cuba as his first visit abroad after his electoral victory underlines the political loyalties of the leftist leader, who pledged to join Castro's "anti-imperialist struggle" in a message to the Cuban people the day after his election.
Alluding to a more leftist trend in Latin America, Castro said: "It appears the map is changing, and we need to be reflective, to observe well and to be informed."
As Bolivia's first indigenous president, Morales' election was "something extraordinary" that had "shaken the world," Castro said.
"We invited him before the elections because we knew that he would win," said Castro, wearing his customary military fatigues.
Despite US efforts to isolate Cuba, Castro enjoys close ties to Venezuela's leftist president Hugo Chavez, and left-of-center governments have to come power elsewhere in the region.
Morales' victory has Washington concerned. As an activist for coca farmers in Bolivia, Morales cultivated friendly ties with Castro for years and has pledged to support Chavez's effort to defeat a US proposed free trade area.
Morales has vowed to nationalize Bolivia's large natural gas industry in the impoverished nation and end the US-sponsored coca eradication program that he says has hurt farmers and failed to curb drug trafficking.
In addition to Castro, Morales was greeted by Vice President Carlos Lage Davila, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and other dignitaries.
Castro's government said the visit provided inspiration just two days before the 47th anniversary of Cuba's revolution.
The visit "represents an important stimulus to strengthen the ties of friendship and cooperation" between Cuba and the new leadership in Bolivia, the government said in a statement.
Morales is due to fly back to Bolivia early Saturday, also in Castro's jet, to spend the new year in Oruro in the southern Andes, his birth place.
On January 3, he embarks on an extensive international tour, including visits to Spain, France, Belgium, South Africa, China and Brazil.
Morales has invited Castro to his inauguration ceremonies on January 22, when he will become Bolivia's first indigenous president.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051230/wl_afp/cubabolivia_051230235330
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