During a speech at the IAEA Board of Governors, diplomat Marlen Redondo expressed Cuba’s willingness to participate in technical cooperation projects, despite the limitations imposed by the US blockade.

Likewise, to international organizations, the third secretary of the Cuban embassy in Austria expressed her gratitude for the assistance provided by the IAEA to 128 nations during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thanks to that assistance, Cuba improved its capacity to diagnose the disease, she underscored.

Meanwhile, she expressed her country’s support to the Comprehensive Measures against Zoonotic Diseases project, boosted by that organization with the purpose of creating a world network to aid national laboratories in the surveillance, early detection and control of diseases.

‘We reiterate our willingness to act as a regional center for that initiative, which will have positive effects, especially for developing nations,’ she indicated.

Redondo also attached importance to programs such as the Marie Curie Fellowships for women scientists and NUTEC Plastics, which aims at helping States integrate nuclear and isotopic techniques to address the challenges related to plastic pollution.

Cuba considers the use of nuclear energy in areas such as health, food security and the environment to be fundamental, and pays special attention to the development of novel technologies in those sectors, she assured.

ef/omr/mgt/gas