Nairobi, February 10, 2022 – The Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to Kenya, Juan Manuel Rodríguez Vázquez, was received by Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), H.E. Inger Andersen. Also attending the event was the Third Secretary of the Cuban Embassy in Nairobi, Edisleydi Curbelo Garcia.
At the meeting, the Cuban Ambassador expressed Cuba’s commitment, as a Small Island Developing State, in the defense and implementation of environmental policies which enable the enjoyment of a healthy and well-balanced environment for all.
For her part, Andersen expressed her admiration towards the Caribbean island for the implementation of environment-friendly oriented policies, for the outstanding development achieved in the field of science, especially their own-vaccine production, as well as Cuba’s permanent solidarity character towards other countries.
Both parties insisted on the need to promote effective state policies towards the achievement of planned environmental goals and, simultaneously, agree on global actions focused on the guarantee of sustainable development.
The meeting was also an opportunity to reiterate the support of UNEP for Cuba in its struggle for the cease of the economic, commercial, and financial blockade of the US against the island, the main obstacle to the achievement of the planned goals in terms of environment protection.
The upcoming celebration of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) and the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the UNEP foundation (UNEP@50), were also important points in the agenda, highlighting the possibility of the States of recognizing the challenges inherited from the period recently concluded and in this framework agree on feasible environmental commitments for the next 50 years.
