Cuban Deputy Premier Held Talks with UN Secretary General

Havana, July 18 (ACN) Cuban deputy Prime Minister Alejandro Gil held talks on Tuesday with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres in the context of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, which is being attended by a Cuban delegation.

During the meeting, Guterres stressed the close cooperation links between Cuba and the UN system and the island’s work as Chair of the Group of 77 plus China, according to the Cuban Presidency.

The UN Secretary General also referred to the important challenges facing humanity, such as the fight against poverty and climate change, and the need to change the international financial architecture, the adoption of measures to solve issues relevant to the foreign debt, financing for development and others.

He also appreciated and accepted an invitation to attend the Summit of the Group of 77 plus China in Havana next September.

Meanwhile, the Cuban government official offered an update of the island’s economic scenario marked by the world economic crisis and worsened by the stiffened US economic, commercial and financial blockade of the island nation and the implication of the unfair US blacklisting of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Cuba keeps advancing the construction of an independent, socialist and sustainable society and with that in mind the country strengthens planning and coordination at different levels of government, by promoting innovation, scientific research and the setting up of multi-sector alliances as crucial tools for recovery, Gil noted.

During his meeting with Antonio Guterres, Alejandro Gil was accompanied by first deputy Foreign Minister Gerardo Penalver, and by officials with the Cuban Economy and Planning Ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.