Cuban President: CELAC-EU Summit Favors Political Dialog

 

Havana, July 17 (ACN) This reunion is the opportunity to advance high-level political dialog, said Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez during the a meeting of Caribbean and European Union leaders prior to the 3rd Summit of Heads of State of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and European Union (CELAC-EU) taking place in Brussels, Belgium.

The history of Caribbean nations has been marked by colonial rule, slavery and plunder and by today’s unfair international economic order, reads the full text of the Cuban head of state as published on the website of the Cuban Presidency.

This reunion offers the opportunity to advance high-level political dialog which must translate into tangible actions in the benefit of our nations, said Diaz-Canel and added that beyond all speeches, the reality of links between the Caribbean and the European Union are quite far from taking advantage of the existing common potential.

Today’s international scenario, marked by the effects of a multi-dimensional global crisis worsened by the impact of the pandemic, demands more understanding and unity from the governments, said the Cuban leader and stressed that it is crucial to provide more cooperation and support to the South, and to the Caribbean in particular.

The Cuban head of state suggested the expansion and diversification of joint projects in priority sectors like food security, financing for development, technology transfer, renewable energy, digital transformation, scientific research, among others.

He also mentioned climate change as a main challenge for Caribbean nations, which count on skilled personnel, advance protocols aimed at cushioning climate change effects and at preserving the Caribbean ecological system; however, Caribbean countries need larger international support including that from the European Union, he noted.

The expansion of relations between the EU and the Caribbean must include appropriate attention to Caribbean claims for compensation to Caribbean Community states due to the damage inflicted by slavery and slave trade, Diaz-Canel stressed and went on to say that relations between the EU and the Caribbean must contribute to enhance development, stability, peace in Haiti.

Referring to Cuba’s relations with other Caribbean nations, the head of state said such links are based on friendship, solidarity and cooperation. He thanked all Caribbean nations, and European countries for their support against the US blockade of his country and their stance against Washinton’s blacklisting of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.

The Cuban President, also First Secretary of Cuba’s Communist Party Central Committee wound up his remarks by calling for united efforts to eliminate the huge gap between the European Union and the Caribbean nations; “it’s a difficult task to take, but it’s not impossible,” he said.