Cuba participated as an observer, something that was grateful for the also member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba, who expressed its satisfaction at the possibility of sharing experiences on issues that unsote us and identify us with the Caribbean, and in which there are experiences and potentials to work together with the region and with the United Kingdom. According to Cubaminrex, the Cuban Minister stressed that we have faced these challenges in a scenario of unprecedented upsteaning of the economic, trade and financial blockade imposed by the U.S. government.
“Cuba reiterates the full readiness to continue contributing to disaster risk reduction, collaboration in the area of Health, including epidemiological counselling and the exchange of experiences with COVID-19 and human resources training,” said Rodríguez Parrilla. It further supported the readiness to continue to participate actively in the preparatory stage of the forthcoming conference of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26); and to maintain its collaboration with the Caribbean region, the United Kingdom and other countries, in the confrontation with the COVID-19 pandemic.
This forum was born in 1997 at the British Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in Edinburgh, Scotland, and had its first meeting in Nassau in 1998. Its aim lies in establishing a systematic dialogue between the British government with the nations of Caricom, (some of them excolonies) and the British Overseas territories. Every two years the forum is held in alternate venues: the United Kingdom and a Caribbean country,—the last one held in 2016, in the Bahamas—and another one had to be held in 2020, in London, but was cancelled by the pandemic scouring by COVID-19.
On two occasions, Cuba participated as an observer. In the third, held in Guyana in 2002; and in the fourth, in London in 2004. On this occasion he was invited by British Chancellor Dominic Raab, who reflected on the economy, the environment, the confrontation with disaster situations, the COVID-19 pandemic, cooperation, security and others.
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Intervention by Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla X Uk-Caribbean Forum
His Royal Highness, Prince of Wales,
Very Honourable Dominic Raab, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth and First Secretary of State of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
His Excellency Dr. Claude Joseph, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Haiti and President of COFCOR,
His Excellency Irwin LaRocque, Secretary
General of CARICOM, His Excellency Ministers for Caribbean Foreign Affairs:
I would like to express Cuba’s thanks to the authorities of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the invitation to this X edition of the Forum, as an observer country.
I must report that I am intervening in this meeting over a VPN connection, because the US blockade against Cuba has prevented me from accessing the WEBEX platform.
More than a year after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, it remains a global challenge that has created a systemic crisis of multiple devastating impacts on our societies, threatening progress towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In the case of Cuba, the unprecedented upsizing of the economic, trade and financial blockade imposed by the United States government, which significantly limits the effective response to the pandemic, is added. Today, however, we have five vaccine candidates in different phases of clinical trials and we will immunize the entire Cuban population this year.
Cuba will continue to actively contribute to the success of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26), and in this regard expresses its willingness to work constructively with all for the full implementation of the Paris Agreement. We reiterate the importance we attach to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and to the moral obligation to make the right financial and technology transfers to developing countries.
There is an ecological debt of industrialized countries, which makes the approach that the exercise of the right to development will require a rational level of carbon emissions. Faced with growing and multiple global challenges, we support the right of Caribbean countries to receive fair and differential treatment.
We are deeply proud, and I am very grateful for the mention of His Royal Highness Prince of Wales for the modest assistance Cuba was able to give to the passengers and crew of the British Cruiser “MS Braemar”, precisely one day like today, exactly one year ago. We have modestly shared our experience in combating the pandemic and sent 56 medical brigades of the Henry Reeve International Contingent to 40 countries and territories, including 11 Africans, 3 Europeans and 23 from Latin America and the Caribbean, including 12 Caribbean nations and 5 overseas territories, 4 British and one French.
We reiterate the full readiness to continue to make our contribution to disaster risk reduction; to continue our collaboration in health, including epidemiological and scientific advice and the exchange of experiences gained in treatment of COVID-19; as well as in human resources training. It is urgent to reaffirm the collective commitment of all nations to the strengthening of multilateralism. Let us seek common responses; let’s globalize cooperation; let us move towards the sustainable development that our people deserve.
Thanks a lot.
