Raul Castro: Trend towards Economic Slowing Down Reverted

HAVANA, Cuba, Jul 16 (acn) Army General Raul Castro, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party and President of the councils of State and Ministers, asserted that the trend towards the slowing down of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), shown in recent years, has been reverted in the country.

In closing the 5th Ordinary Period of Sessions of the 8th Legislature, Raul confirmed that until June 30, GDP grew 4.7 percent and it is estimated that by the end of this year it will be around that figure.
"This is very good, considering that last year there was only a one percent growth," he pointed out.

He stressed that to achieve four percent growth of the GDP we have to work hard and called to do so with a lot of discipline, especially in the economic sphere.

The Cuban president said that during 2015 severe financial constraints against the country continued, adding that systematic payment to creditors and foreign suppliers that promotes the credibility of national economy internationally has been continued, despite the fact that the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States against Cuba remains in full force.

The monetary and financial balance and inflation contained between three and five percent is maintained, as planned, although we do not ignore the concerns of the population for the high prices of agricultural products growing more than average wage, he pointed out.

Raul called to the rational use of water and warned that at the end of June reservoirs only accumulated 38 percent of total capacity and are now at 36.1, as reported by the president of the Institute of Water Resources, Ines Maria Chapman, who stated that the worst scenario is in the east, Ciego de Avila, Sancti Spiritus and Pinar del Rio.

On social programs for the Cuban population, he noted that during 2015 some were maintained and perfected and highlighted the case of the epidemiological situation in the country, which has improved substantially.

During 2015 we worked on the theoretical conceptualization of socialism in Cuba, he informed the 544 deputies present at the Convention Center, adding that this is an important task because since the triumph of the Revolution nothing had been done in that regard.
He informed that work is also being done with a view to the 7th Cuban Communist Party Congress slated for April, 2016, in the lines and strategic sectors that make up the economic development program until 2030.

SOCIALIST STATE ENTERPRISE
Raul referred to the importance of the role of the socialist state enterprise as a key figure in the economy and to the adjustment measures concerning its operation, as well as for the creation of wage systems associated to results.
Changes in the planning process have been made, in line with the improvement of the business system, which has allowed for the incorporation to the Economy Plan of policies related to the Guidelines for Economic and Social Policy of the Party and the Revolution, he underlined.
He asserted that progress in the implementation of measures aimed at monetary unification continues -an extremely complex process that it is essential for the efficient performance of the economy.
He reiterated the proposals to guarantee bank deposits in foreign currencies in convertible Cuban pesos (CUC) and in Cuban pesos (CUP), as well as cash in the hands of the population and domestic and foreign legal entities.
Raul stated that the experimental process of creating non-agricultural cooperatives, the consolidation and operation of existing ones and progress in establishing new, to avoid repeating distortions already identified, is maintained.
He recalled that a little over half a million Cubans work as self-employed in multiple activities, a figure that grows gradually.
We will continue the process of changes of society that as a sovereign nation we have decided, in order to build a prosperous and sustainable socialism, the Cuban president emphasized.

FOREIGN POLICY

He referred to the intense international activity that took place during the first half of the year, marked by the 3rd Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States held in January, in which the firm claims of ending the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba were expressed.
According to Raul, states represented in the 25th Summit of the African Union also made the same claim.
He asserted that the 7th Summit of the Americas, in which Cuba participated for the first time in over half a century, also became a space for the region to reiterate its rejection of the blockade.
He recalled that, within that framework, he met with the President of the United States, in which the invariable position of the principles of Cuban foreign policy was ratified.
In another moment of his speech, Raul reiterated Cuba's solidarity with the Bolivarian Revolution of Venezuela and its government, led by Nicolas Maduro, in view of destabilizing attempts, and the island's rejection of any act of foreign interference.
In addition, he denounced the destabilizing campaigns against the government of President Rafael Correa and the Citizen Revolution in Ecuador.