We can never be grateful enough for Cuba's solidarity, Bolivian president asserts

HAVANA, Cuba, Dec 14 (ACN) Luis Arce Catacora, president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, said today that it will never be enough to express gratitude for the solidarity and humanitarian aid provided by Cuba in the world and in the Latin American and Caribbean region.

During his speech at the 20th Summit of the Bolivarian Alternative for the People of Our America-People's Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) being held here in Havana today, the Bolivian president apologized to Cuba for the aggression against Cuban health professionals in 2019, when they had to interrupt the continuity of solidarity missions in his country.

He highlighted that some 400, 000 Cuban doctors are helping in 164 countries, an unprecedented mission, under the Marti's conception that "Homeland is humanity".

Arce Catacora also thanked Cuba for its unconditional solidarity, for its moral strength, for being a lighthouse in the construction of a better world that is possible and necessary.

Cuba proved that there is no perpetual empire, showed the value of solidarity, emphasized and qualified as unacceptable the unilateral and coercive measures against several states.

These measures increase suffering, limit the capacity to counteract the health crisis, and put the population at risk, undermining the right of nations to sustainable development.

On how COVID-19 has impacted the world and the region, Bolivian leader highlighted that the pandemic has shown the inequality between countries and the negative impact on health, the economy and work.

To address this phenomenon, South American president urged the creation of a post-COVID-19 strategy based on two fundamental premises: the colonialist threat that implies confronting the pandemic under unequal conditions and the obligation to protect all citizens of the world.

In addition, he called for the implementation of public policies in which the nations of the region complement and integrate each other, and prioritize the joint development of biotechnology and economic and productive reactivation, with the ALBA Bank as a driving force.

With health and food, we can continue moving forward together, Arce Catacora concluded.