United Nations, Sep 21 (Prensa Latina) The president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, continued his bilateral agenda in the UN headquarters, after meeting with representatives of Vietnam and Saint Lucia and signing the Treaty for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity.
In a message published on social networks, the president described the meeting with the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Pham Minh Chinh, as very fraternal. “We expressed mutual satisfaction for the excellent state of bilateral relations and the consolidation of high-level political dialogue, as well as the desire to strengthen ties of brotherhood that unite us,” he wrote.
The head of state held an exchange with Philip J. Pierre, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, as part of his program in the high-level week of the 78th UN General Assembly.
In another message, the president announced the signing of the treaty for the Conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond jurisdictional waters.
Díaz-Canel emphasized that Cuba’s delegation is aware of the prevailing need for the instrument, one of the most important negotiated during this century, to come into force as soon as possible. “This treaty, without a doubt, is a historic fact and an achievement of developing countries,” he added.
“It was an honor for Cuba to have assumed the coordination of the 134 member countries of the G77 + China during the last and decisive session of the Conference on Marine Biodiversity,” the president said.
Caracas, Sep 20 (Prensa Latina) The Venezuela-Cuba National Movement of Friendship and Mutual Solidarity, will hold its 13th Meeting from November 24th to 26th. Its central themes will be the condemnation of the blockade of the United States against Cuba.
The meeting will be held in the city of Maracay, state of Aragua. 150 national delegates and about 40 foreign ones are expected to attend, according to Jhonny García, general coordinator of the group, in an interview with Prensa Latina.
The 13th Meeting “has great importance for the consolidation of solidarity between our peoples, the strengthening of the bridge of friendship and historical brotherhood of Venezuela and Cuba, and thus for the continuous contribution to the integration and complementarity of the Bolivarian Government of Nicolás Maduro,” he said.
“We have been working for a long time in advance to ensure all the logistics of (such a meeting),” he stated, and recognized that the meeting with representatives from the five continents “raises the levels of participants, debates and discussions”, thus turning Maracay into the world capital of solidarity, which will also be a favorable occasion to strongly support the Cuban Revolution, its Government and the people of Cuba.
García reported that an important meeting took place on Tuesday with the Cuban ambassador in Caracas, Dagoberto Rodríguez, to analyze everything related to the call for the meeting.
The objective of the meeting is to develop a debate with a first point related to the blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba, and unilateral coercive measures as forms of imperialist aggression against the people, García said.
García assured that Cuba can always count on the Solidarity Movement because it is “an organization of mutual feelings” that has a long history since the times of Simón Bolívar and José Martí, which were been continued by Fidel Castro (1926-2016) and Hugo Chávez (1954-2013), and currently by Miguel Díaz-Canel and Nicolás Maduro.
United Nations, Sep 19 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Tuesday demanded a new Global Compact in the light of the economic challenges being faced by the countries of the South, due to the inequalities of the financial system.
The G77+China, a negotiating bloc chaired for the first time by Cuba, has much to contribute to the multilateralism that the planet needs, he said. That group of “diverse peoples with common problems” raised their voices recently in Havana against the order created by a minority of more powerful countries and developing nations, Díaz-Canel added.
He noted that 60 years ago, the members of the G77+China came together with the unavoidable challenge of changing that world architecture, which is unsustainable for the planet.
The countries represented by that forum not only have the challenge of development but also that of modifying the structures that put us at a disadvantage, the Cuban head of State noted.
A new Global Compact is urgently needed, insisted the Cuban President, who recalled that the efforts by the countries of the South are not enough to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
United Nations, Sep 20 (Prensa Latina) Leaders attending the High Level segment of the UN General Assembly expressed rejection of the United States blockade on Cuba.
The president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva, condemned the United States blockade against Cuba once again: “Brazil will continue to denounce measures taken without support of the UN Charter, such as the economic and financial blockade imposed on Cuba”. He also spoke out against the attempts to classify Cuba as a state sponsoring terrorism.
The president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, also described the blockade as “inhumane and criminal,” and criticized such coercive measures and the reprisals applied by hegemonic powers against the people in detriment of their development and most basic human rights.
According to Arce, these punitive measures confirm the dysfunctionality of a system far removed from international law and multilateralism. “A clear example of these measures is the illegal, inhuman and criminal economic and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba,” he stressed.
On the same subject, President Miguel Díaz-Canel denounced that the blockade is an extraterritorial, cruel and silent economic war accompanied by a powerful political machinery of destabilization against Cuba: “The Cuban people resist and creatively win in the face of this ruthless economic war, which opportunistically escalated to an even more extreme dimension since 2019, in the midst of the Covid 19 pandemic,” the head of state said.
Cuba also received signs of support and condemnation of the stifling policy imposed by the United States.
A sign projected on the facade of a building in Union Square reads ‘Let Cuba live’ and ‘Cuba is a sponsor of peace’. This is accompanied by the tag ‘off the list’, in reference to the constant request from sectors in solidarity with Cuba in the United States, who are urging to exclude the Island from the list of states sponsors of terrorism.
Representatives of organizations and social movements in solidarity with Cuba stood in front of the Cuban embassy at the UN,on Tuesday, so as to reiterate their support for Cuba.
United Nations, Sep 19 (Prensa Latina) The blockade against Cuba is an extraterritorial, cruel and silent economic war that is accompanied by a powerful political machinery of destabilization, President Miguel Díaz-Canel denounced on Tuesday when condemning the blockade imposed by the United States.
The Cuban people resist and creatively win this ruthless economic war, which since 2019, amid the pandemic, was opportunistically escalated to an even more extreme dimension, the head of State denounced at the General Debate at the United Nations.
Among other effects, the President recalled that this policy pursues and tries to cut off supplies of fuel and lubricants to Cuba while preventing the access to technologies, including medical equipment, with more than 10 percent US components.
At the same time, it attacks Cuba’s medical cooperation in other nations with threats to sovereign governments that request that contribution and respond to the public health needs of their people.
“Covered by this arbitrary and fraudulent accusation, they extort hundreds of banking and financial entities all over the world and force them to choose between continuing their relations with the United States or maintaining their ties with Cuba,” Díaz-Canel noted.
Washington lies and does enormous damage to international efforts to fight terrorism when it accuses the nation, without any basis, of sponsoring this scourge, he added.
It is a real siege accompanied by a powerful political destabilization machinery, with million-dollar funds approved by the United States Congress to capitalize on the shortcomings caused by the blockade and undermine constitutional order and citizen’s tranquility.
Cuba is not the first country to be affected by its effects, but it is the one that has endured them for the longest time despite the global condemnation that is expressed almost unanimously every year at this Assembly, Díaz-Canel stressed.
In that regard, the Cuban head of State condemned the unilateral coercive measures imposed on countries such as Zimbabwe, Syria, Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“Despite the hostility of your government, we will continue to build bridges with the people of the United States, as we do with all the people of the world, and we will increasingly strengthen ties with Cuban emigrants in every corner of the planet,” Díaz-Canel emphasized.
United Nations, Sep 20 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Wednesday demanded the relief of the foreign debt that represents a serious threat to the development of the members of the G77+China, a bloc chaired by Cuba.
Unsustainable debt drags the majority of the Global South towards an economic abyss. The current financial architecture is not ready to provide the response that these nations need, Díaz-Canel noted.
A step in that direction would be to redesign and recapitalize multilateral banks to assist the developing countries, said the Cuban president, who warned that this refinancing would not be enough to meet the needs of 80 percent of the world’s population, grouped in the members the G77+China.
“An effective and inclusive solution is needed with the participation of all creditors, so that the countries of the South, particularly the middle-income countries, with billions of dollars of their own domestic savings, invest in their development,” he stressed.
Díaz-Canel also described a reform of the current governance system and the governance structure of international financial institutions, especially the International Monetary Fund, as an essential step.
“The voting system based on economic-financial power is no longer sustainable,” he stressed in this regard. An improved global sovereign debt architecture with significant participation by the developing countries is necessary, as well as inclusive and effective platforms to design and debate international tax rules and regulations at the United Nations, he noted.
The G77+China expects that this dialogue can foster the political will urgently to implement what is necessary to overcome what he described as one of the most complex crises that humanity has witnessed, Díaz-Canel noted.
Panama, Sep 18 (Prensa Latina) The Marti Association of Cuban Residents in Panama (AMCRP) on Monday delivered a letter to Foreign Minister Janaina Tewaney thanking her for rejecting the United States blockade against their homeland.
The diplomat presented Panama’s stance in her speech before the plenary session of the Summit of the heads of State and/or Government of G77+China group, held in Havana on September 15-16.
In his address, Tewaney pointed out that Panama opposes unilateral measures, as it has expressed at other forums, a principle that she reiterated in the context of the analysis of the achievements in technology, science and innovation, where “there is no room for unilateral measures such as the blockade that still affects our Cuban brothers.”
She pointed out that it is essential that we recognize that although we all have access to the same development opportunities, timely access to the same global financing methods and mechanisms is necessary to provide benefits to the peoples.
“It is necessary to operate under the same conditions and rules,” she remarked at the time.
In its letter, the AMCRP explained that the condemnation of the unjust economic, financial and commercial blockade imposed by Washington on Cuba has been a permanent demand by the vast majority of Cuban residents abroad, including those who live in Panama.
Washington’s cruel policy is the main obstacle to Cuba’s economic development, according to the letter, to which Prensa Latina had access.
In this regard, the AMCRP mentioned an example of the implementation of the strategy of economic suffocation, the situation of Panama’s banking financial system that prevents transactions between both countries.
Our compatriots here have serious limitations to send remittances to their relatives in Cuba through banks, while entrepreneurs in Cuba cannot pay their suppliers in Panama through this means, also affecting local business people, the letter states.
On the other hand, the document pointed out that these measures of economic pressure on nations in the region add to the causes of the migration crisis that is taking place on the continent, so speaking out against them strongly as they have done also means to attack the root of a phenomenon that affects Panama directly and seriously.
The AMCRP also conveyed the will of the community of Cuban residents here to denounce the unilateral measures and strengthen the ties of brotherhood between both nations.
Damascus, Sep 18 (Prensa Latina) The adviser to Syrian President, Bouzeina Shabaan, said on Monday that through the G77+China Summit Cuba managed to unite the countries of the South against the North represented by the United States and Europe.
Representatives of 134 countries arrived in Cuba in an unprecedented challenge to the unjust blockade imposed by the United States and its allies on Cuba for almost 60 years, the senior official said in an opinion article published in the Al-Watan newspaper.
She considered that Washington has been bent on isolating and impoverishing Cuba for decades; however, Havana welcomed and united the continents of Asia, Africa and Latin America, which represent 80 percent of the world’s population and two thirds of the members of the United Nations.
Shabaan affirmed that after the BRICS, ASEAN and G20 summits, the meeting of the Group 77 and China was undoubtedly the largest global event of this century and the most important in terms of attendance and connotations.
This event was neither protocol nor formal, but rather, an authentic rendezvous attended by representatives of countries with hearts hardened by bitter experiences over years and decades with the countries of the North, she pointed out.
Shabaan added that these nations decided to raise their voices from a country that suffered the longest blockade known to humankind, and to strongly denounce the policies of blockade, injustice, colonialism, impoverishment, sanctions, marginalization, exploitation and racism that these peoples have suffered in various forms.
It was proved during the Summit that the United States and Europe are isolated from the majority of humanity and that Cuba, which they tried to besiege for decades, is today the source of inspiration for the peoples, thanks to its sustainable resistance and its defense of the values of well-being and justice, the presidential advisor noted.
She pointed out that Cuba witnessed the sunset of the West and the failure of its repressive and colonial policies and its catastrophic system of illegal sanctions, as well as the unprecedented awakening of the peoples of the countries of the South.
On the other hand, she indicated that the focus on the fundamental issues of scientific, cognitive and technological development is enough to move forward and achieve added value, to achieve justice and equality of conditions, and to eliminate, once and for all, the arrogance, discrimination, hegemony and wars imposed by the North.
The Syrian high official noted the ideas raised by Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel at the Summit, who redefined the countries of the South, saying, “We are not poor countries but impoverished and deprived of technology and science so that we remain marginal and to make it easier for the countries of the North to plunder our human resources and wealth.”
He pointed out that humanity needs a just and sustainable global order that will allow most of these countries to emerge from the crises that have been imposed on them.
The countries of the South must focus today, in a participatory and collective manner, on scientific resources, innovation and the strengthening of scientific and cognitive capacities to achieve sustainable development, he said. In this regard, Diaz Canel highlighted Cuba’s experience and example in scientific and medical research, as it demonstrated that a blockaded people managed to produce numerous vaccines thanks to its scientists and cadres, and made these medical achievements available to the countries of the South.
Paris, Sep 18 (Prensa Latina) Solidarity and cooperation organizations from Germany, Spain, France, and Italy announced on Monday that they are coordinating to launch a World Day opposing the US Blockade against Cuba, so as to increase pressure on this aggressive US policy.
The Cuba Cooperation France Association (CubaCoop), the Network of Solidarity with Cuba in Germany (Netzwerk Cuba), the State Movement in Solidarity with Cuba (MESC), and the Italy-Cuba Friendship Association (ANAIC) outlined the proposal that will be discussed at the Fête de L’Humanité this weekend.
Convened by CubaCoop, they participated in the event in the Paris region on Saturday in a European forum to generate new initiatives which combine political support for Cuba with economic accompaniment, recognizing that the blockade is the main obstacle to the development of Cuba, which has been subjected to more than 60 years of siege.
The four organizations supported holding an International Tribunal in Brussels on November 16 and 17 to denounce and condemn the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States, its tightening, and its extraterritorial nature.
They also discussed implementing a cooperation project with Cuba, which boosted the work on the idea that Cuba needs both political and economic solidarity in the face of the stifling situation caused by Washington’s hostility.
CubaCoop First Vice President Miguel Quintero, Network Cuba coordinator Angelika Becker, ANAIC President Marco Papacci, and David Rodríguez on behalf of the MESC, agreed to promote the joint work.
The European forum and other meetings held during the Fête de L’Humanité allowed the organizations to discuss their achievements and challenges to strengthen support for Cuba, its people, and its Revolution.
United Nations, Sep 18 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel on Monday denounced the impact of unilateral restrictions on the development and fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda on the countries of the South.
These provisions that are incompatible with the Agreements of the World Trade Organization must be eliminated as soon as possible, the Cuban head of State emphasized when speaking as president of the G77+China Summit on the opening day of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit.
Díaz-Canel rejected unilateral coercive measures as a clear violation of the United Nations Charter and an obstacle to the efforts of the affected States to achieve the 2030 Agenda and sustainable development in general.
“The international community, including the United Nations System, must continue to reject these measures strongly and work for their unconditional elimination,” he stressed.
The lack of progress should not be attributed to the absence of solutions, Díaz-Canel told the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development under the auspices of the UN General Assembly.
The Cuban leader described the global context as critical for developing nations, which are affected by “an unjust economic order that perpetuates inequalities and poverty.”
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the world had already deviated from the path towards the 2030 Agenda, he warned.
“By then, we will not eliminate hunger as we had agreed upon, on the contrary, currently 735 million suffer from chronic hunger, a figure that is higher than the one reported in 2015,” he added.
At this pace, none of the SDGs will be achieved and more than half of the agreed goals will be missed, Díaz-Canel went on to say.
In that regard, recalled the highest priority given by the G77+China to this event with the purpose of placing sustainable development once again at the center of the international agenda and providing the necessary political impetus.
The group has drafted a declaration to increase and speed up the implementation of innovative, transformative and ambitious concrete actions and measures that will guarantee the achievement of the SDGs.
The bloc has led a global call for an urgent reform of the international financial architecture, shared by a large number of world leaders and personalities, Díaz-Canel stressed.
