Diaz-Canel to speak tomorrow at United Nations Debate

 HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 18 (ACN) Miguel Diaz-Canel, President of Cuba, will speak tomorrow on the opening day of the annual General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly, as part of the high-level segment of that deliberative body, which will take place until September 26 in the city of New York, United States.

According to the website of the Cuban Presidency, the First Secretary of the Party's Central Committee, who arrived in the city on Sunday, will be the sixth speaker, and his speech will also express the positions of the Group of 77 and China, of which the Caribbean nation is President pro tempore.

It is foreseeable that at the General Debate a large number of high-ranking representatives of the 193 member states of the organization will express the positions of their countries in rejection of the criminal blockade imposed by the US government against Cuba, said Rodolfo Benitez Verson, director general of Multilateral Affairs and International Law of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In an interview with the presidential press team, he explained that three other aspects can also be identified that will be prioritized for follow-up in high-level segments by the delegations, including Cuba's: the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); the fight against climate change; and international efforts in health.

The Summit on the SDGs, scheduled for September 18 and 19, will allow the leaders to take assessment of the fulfillment of the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations Organization (UN), precisely at the halfway point of the 15-year deadline for its implementation, said the director general of Multilateral Affairs and International Law of the Foreign Ministry.

On September 20, he added, the High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development will take place, the results of which should contribute to accelerating the implementation of the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda (a UN instrument aimed at mobilizing the financial resources needed to achieve the SDGs).

He specified that on the same day the Climate Ambition Summit will be held, in which Diaz-Canel will announce the commitments assumed by Cuba to face climate change and will demand that developed countries assume their historical responsibility, taking into account that they have been the main causes of the current serious climate crisis.

At the High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention and Response, also scheduled for September 20, Cuba's experience in confronting COVID-19 will be shared, explained Benitez Verson.

Also this week, a Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Group of 77 and China will be held, which will be opened by the Cuban head of state, in his capacity as President pro tempore of the coordination mechanism.

According to the diplomat, there are also plans to hold other high-level events on different topics, such as universal health coverage, combating tuberculosis, and a preparatory Ministerial Meeting for the Summit of the Future, which should pave the way for the Summit of the Future, to be held at the United Nations in 2024.