Diaz-Canel announced not to attend BRICS Summit

HAVANA, Cuba, Havana, Oct 22 (ACN) Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and president of the National Defense Council (CDN), announced in Havana that he will not attend the BRICS Summit to be held in the Russian city of Kazan from October 23 to 24.

Diaz-Canel said that the decision responds to the will to remain at the head of the leadership of the Government, the Party and the people to face the current energy and cyclonic emergency situations in the country.
He pointed out that the Cuban delegation to the event will be worthily represented by Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, foreign minister.

More than 30 countries have been summoned to the meeting and the possible adhesion of these countries as partner states to the bloc will be discussed, in order to expand their strategic projections towards the countries of the South.

He praised this possibility as favorable given the group's environment and its commitment to cooperation, multilateralism, inclusion and solidarity towards Cuba and other developing countries.

Regarding the energy contingency, Cuban head of state pointed out that there has been notable progress, with 36 % of the service restored so far, more than 90% in Havana, and that this should grow in the coming hours.

He specified that the immediate task is to overcome the emergency to move on to a stage of management of the pre-existing deficits that, with the efforts to guarantee fuel for distributed generation and floating power plants, should position the island in better generation conditions.

Regarding the passage of Hurricane Oscar, now a tropical storm, he stressed that severe damage is reported in the easternmost province of Guantanamo with preliminary figures, through which the loss of six human lives in the municipality of San Antonio del Sur is regretted.

He stressed that flooding above historic levels had been recorded and that rescue efforts were continuing in some communities that were cut off from communication.