Cuba calls for action in UN debate on sustainable development

HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 29 (ACN) With a call to action on the need for effective and immediate solutions, Manuel Marrero, Cuban PM, addressed the UN General Assembly debate on financing for development in the era of COVID-19 Tuesday.

The Cuban prime minister stated that the current pandemic has had a negative impact on health, finances, economy, employment and society in all countries, with more negative effects on developing nations.
He shared his view on the crisis generated by health spending and the reduction of income, resulting in the paralysis of the economy and international trade, which has increased the fiscal, trade and balance of payments deficits of developing countries, as well as food insecurity.
Marrero denounced how the world crisis has been aggravated by the protectionism of the United States, its trade wars and its unilateral coercive economic measures against sovereign states, contrary to the Charter of the United Nations (UN), international law and multilateral trade rules.
He recalled the tight economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba, imposed by the northern nation, which prevents the full development of the country, and which, moreover, has been intensified during the pandemic, thus hindering the acquisition of medicines, equipment and vital medical supplies in these circumstances.
Cuban PM reiterated Cuba's support for the initiatives for debt relief, and affirmed that the unpayable foreign debt held by the countries of the South must be eliminated, which, aggravated by the socio-economic effects of the pandemic, threatens the sustainable development of the peoples.
The nations of the world need effective and immediate solutions. It is time for action. Actions, not words, are urgently needed, he concluded.