Díaz-Canel will formally present the pro tempore Presidency of ECLAC to the government of Costa Rica, completing Cuba’s two-year term in the position, which began in May of 2018, when the 37th Session took place in Havana.

In an analysis of Cuba’s work, Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC executive secretary recognized our country’s leadership during its term as pro-tempore president of the body, characterized by “commitment and conviction.”

She noted that Cuba’s work “has been exceptional, excellent, fulfilling this responsibility within the framework of the pandemic, demonstrating immediate response capacity,” while highlighting Cuba’s solidarity, as well as the country’s emphasis on multilateralism as a key tool in promoting equitable sustainable development.

“We will miss Cuba’s leadership, but not Cuba, because despite the fact that it is relinquishing the presidency, it will continue, I am sure, to play a very active and very important role,” she said, according to Prensa Latina.

The agenda for these sessions includes a dialogue between foreign ministers, to address economic recovery post-COVID-19 and a Political Declaration, reported Costa Rican Deputy Chancellor Christian Guillermet, as well as a meeting of the South-South Cooperation Committee and a specific event to will address the challenges of the Caribbean, in addition to important parallel events on Afro-descendants, older adults, human rights and social protection.

(Taken from Granma)

In contrast to the cold, gray, and at times stormy day outside, the Cuban delegation continued on building harmonious and respectful relations with all countries.

At the stroke of noon, the President of the Councils of State and Ministers met with Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, as part of the collateral activities of leaders gathered at the United Nations.

The leaders expressed mutual recognition of the positive commercial relations between the two nations and the intention to advance further in the political sphere. They also considered the historic nature of these ties.

The Cuban President extended an invitation to Sánchez to visit the island, which the secretary-general of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party responded to favorably.

The Cuban President likewise held a meeting with Mauricio Macri, president of Argentina since December 10, 2015.

Later he spoke with Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa, who thanked the Cuban leader for his compelling speech in the UN plenary dedicated to the memory of Nelson Mandela, and the contribution of the Caribbean nation to the defeat of apartheid.

They also recalled when, in 2015, Ramaphosa, then vice president, received Díaz-Canel, then first vice president of Cuba, in the city of Johannesburg.

The day continued with a meeting with Prime Minister of Barbados Mía Mottley, an expression of the respect that Cuba professes toward the nations of the Caribbean.
The Cuban President then spoke with the President of Angola, Joao Lourenço, who received him in September 2017 in Luanda, when he headed the Cuban delegation to his inauguration as president.

On this occasion, they also reiterated the will to expand political, economic and cooperation ties.

Díaz-Canel then spoke with the Panamanian President, Juan Carlos Varela, who in April, on the occasion of his election of as President of the Councils of State and Ministers, tweeted that he would continue to strengthen the ties of friendship between Cuba and Panama. This meeting at the UN was confirmation of that intention.

The Cuban President also spoke with Alicia Bárcena, executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), with whom he previously met in May, when Havana hosted the 37th Session of the Commission.

As the afternoon drew to a close, Díaz-Canel exchanged with Federica Mogherini, high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
These meetings were recognition of Cuba’s impact on global politics.

(Granma)

In a friendly atmosphere the two officials highlighted the excellent state of relations between the Cuban government and ECLAC, as well as their willingness to continue strengthening them.

Bárcena thanked Díaz-Canel for Cuba’s efforts in organizing this important event, while the Cuban president expressed his gratitude for the commission’s support in the updating of the island’s economic model.
The two officials also discussed international affairs.

The distinguished visitor was accompanied by ECLAC deputy executive secretaries Raúl García Buchaca and Mario Zimoli.

Participating on the Cuban side were Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister and Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz, and Ileana Núñez Mordoche, respectively, as well as Ambassador Anayansi Rodríguez Camejo, Cuba’s permanent representative to the United Nations.

(Granma)

She stated that if Cuba and ECLAC have anything in common, it is the idea that “Economic growth and equality are not incompatible.”

“Equality, she insisted, goes hand-in-hand with growth in Cuba.”

She emphasized Cuba’s efforts to replace imports with domestic products, and cited the accumulation of internal capital as a shared interest across the region, in the face of limitations on participation in the international market.

Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz, Cuban minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, reiterated that the country’s commitment to regional integration is part of the historic process of developing the country’s national identity.

He stressed the role of ECLAC in ongoing support for initiatives promoting the region’s economic and social development. During the foreign investment seminar, “Opportunities for Business and Sustainable Development for Cuba,” Malmierca Díaz explained that investment is an essential component of Cuba’s development strategy through 2030.

The European Union Commission’s director general of cooperation, Stefano Manservisi, also spoke, stating, “Being here is a way to recognize the leadership of Cuba.

“Our new initiatives are focused around a conception that transcends the concept of donor and receiver,” he continued, noting that “proposals reflect joint work, an agenda for all.”

On another note, the regional instrument “Facilitation for Development in Transition,” that will have an impact on the design and implementation of public policies to meet Sustainable Development Objectives, was signed by Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC executive secretary; Stefano Manservisi, director general of International Cooperation for the European Commission; and Mario Pezzini, director of the Development Center associated with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, within the framework of 37th period of ECLAC.

Meanwhile, as part of the panel entitled “Implementing the 2030 Agenda: Sustainable Development with Equality,” Fermín Quiñonez Sánchez, president of the Cuban United Nations Association (ACNU), emphasized that we cannot talk about sustainable development as long as wars of conquest, military interventions, and imperialist interests undermine the sovereignty, integrity, and independence of nations.

In the case of Cuba, he added, it will be much more difficult to advance in the implementation of sustainable development objectives if the criminal U.S. economic, financial and commercial blockade remains in place.

Since the beginning of the Revolution in 1959, Quiñonez said, the reaching of objectives and development goals has been based on the essential combination of political will and the accompaniment of the UN system of organizations.

He added that the organization of the event itself was coordinated by ACNU, an example of the involvement, commitment, and unity in action of Cuban civil society and national institutions, to build an increasingly more just society and advance in perfecting Cuba’s socio-economic model, with world peace and cooperation as the pillars that have always guided the Revolutionary government.

Likewise, the panel on South-South cooperation, entitled “Opportunities and lessons learned from the Cuban experience,” Alicia Bárcena referred to the topic of regional integration as a constant on Cuba’s and the ECLAC’s agendas, saying that, “Cuba has become an example of South-South cooperation.”

We have been able to get South-South cooperation on the road, she indicated, emphasizing that Cuba has never renounced its “soul of equality.”

In this sense, she said, “I will never forget Fidel’s speech in Brazil when he said that the problem was not hunger, but rather human beings, who were in danger of extinction.”

“It’s good to recognize social progress,” she said, recalling the significant steps Cuba has taken in its efforts to achieve social objectives such as the training of highly qualified human resources, despite the countries limited material resources, emphasizing the thinking that prevails here, and noting the existence of “much talent.” She cited the development of scientific centers, which by as early as 1992, made Cuba a reference in the field.

On the same panel, Cuba’s deputy minister of Foreign Trade and Investment, Ileana Núñez, spoke of the disinterested help the Cuban government has offered, even when facing needs here, noting the generous spirit of the Cuban people as key to moving forward in regional integration and sustainable development in Latin America.

Jorge Chediek, director of the UN’s South-South Cooperation Office, concluded saying, “Thank you for what you are doing for the world. May the international community follow the example of Cuban doctors, who I have seen in Peru, in Brazil, arriving where others have not.”

(Granma)

In a cordial atmosphere, the two officials discussed the regional situation, in particular the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, as well as the earthquakes which affected Mexico.

Bárcena conveyed her gratitude to the President for Cuba’s support in hosting the 56th Meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, currently taking place in Havana.

Participating on the Cuban side during the encounter were Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, a Council of Ministers vice president and minister of Economy and Planning, and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla.

(Granma)