03/15/2021
By Enrique Moreno Gimeranez / Photos: Tony Hernández Mena //
Deputies to the National Assembly of People’s Power (ANPP) and members of the Friendship Group with Cuba in the European Parliament exchanged in virtual format Monday, March 15, on the challenges of COVID-19.
The experiences in confronting and preventing the new coronavirus, information on the five vaccine candidates in Cuba, and the role of integrated science in the fight against the pandemic are among the main topics addressed at the event.
On the Cuban side, the deputies Yolanda Ferrer Gómez and Cristina Luna Morales, presidents of the International Relations and Health and Sports commissions of the ANPP, respectively, participated; the young deputy Yury Valdés Balbín, deputy director of the Finlay Vaccine Institute; and Dr. Consuelo Macías Abraham, director of the Institute of Hematology and Immunology and member of the Group of World Experts on COVID-19.
At the beginning of the meeting, Yolanda Ferrer Gómez greeted the participants and denounced that the United States Blockade prevents Cuba from accessing various platforms, including the one that the European Parliament usually uses for its videoconferences.
Deputy Ana María Mari Machado, vice president of the National Assembly, greeted those present and celebrated the re-founding of the Friendship Group and the activities that it has been developing; She also thanked the effective accompaniment to the implementation of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between Cuba and the European Union.
“This meeting is a sample of how much we can do together, from the group and with other MEPs and political forces that have the true intention of strengthening our relations and addressing issues of common interest for the development and well-being of our peoples,” she said. .
On her Twitter account, Mari Machado also thanked the group’s members for the permanent rejection of the United States Blockade against Cuba.
Dr. Consuelo Macías Abraham, director of the Institute of Hematology and Immunology and member of the World Group of Experts on Covid-19, exchanged with the MEPs about the Cuban protocols to confront the pandemic, which have made it possible to achieve control of the disease and reduce the death toll to the minimum possible.
For his part, the deputy Yury Valdés Balbín, presented in a second moment the development of Cuban science, and the political will of the Revolution since 1959 to promote this sector based on health and life, also revealed during the pandemic with the development of five vaccine candidates to combat Covid-19.
Valdés Balbín also meant the imprint of the thought of the Commander-in-Chief in obtaining these results.
The President of the National Assembly and the leadership of the Health and Sports Commission have been permanent members of the National Temporary Group created in Cuba to follow the implementation of the National Plan to Combat COVID-19, which, since January 2020, daily analyzes the evolution of the disease at the national and international level, Dip. Cristina Luna Morales.
Morales referred to the active participation of the deputies from their places of residence, making visits to verify compliance with the measures adopted from the beginning, in the community to the different health institutions, work centers, students, etc., using as working methods the exchange with the family doctors and nurses, the main authorities in the territories, the presidents of popular councils, district delegates and the population.
“All of this has made it possible to appreciate the cohesion and consecration of the working groups in the communities, the people’s acceptance of the measures and their appreciation of the quality and organization with which they have been implemented,” she said.
The European parliamentarians ratified their position condemning the hostile policy of successive governments against Cuba and recognized the role of the Island and its Public Health system in confronting the pandemic. In the same way, they were interested in details of the development of vaccine candidates in the Antillean nation and the preventive measures that are applied to avoid contagion.
At the end, Yolanda Ferrer Gómez reiterated her gratitude to the Group for her solidarity and support, and reaffirmed the will to strengthen relations with the Group, other groups, commissions and MEPs every day.
He pointed out that, based on respect for the sovereignty of both parties, as established in the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between Cuba and the European Union, future actions can be planned to strengthen relations between the European Parliament and the National Assembly of People’s Power.
Javier Moreno, president of the Friendship Group with Cuba in that parliamentary body, proposed to the members of the European Parliament to send a letter to US President Joe Biden to resume the path of dialogue and cooperation undertaken by Obama and put an end to the unjust blockade against the Cuban people.
Intercambian diputados cubanos y europarlamentarios sobre el enfrentamiento a la COVID-19 (gob.cu)
Link video: https://youtu.be/JyO8HC6nodg
