At the beginning of the activity, Cuba’s Ambassador in China Carlos Miguel Pereira stressed that it is impossible to talk about the development and prestige achieved by his country in the sector, without referring to the work and legacy of who defined as “a great defender of utopia.”

“His contribution was decisive to create in Cuba an environment and a science and innovation system unprecedented in third world countries (…) Under his great care and impetus, in almost more than 30 years, biotechnology became one of the leading sectors of the economy,” Pereira said.

Meanwhile, Ricardo Silva, head of BioCubaFarma Group office in China, illustrated how Fidel turned into fact the idea of providing Cuba with one of the highest level and advanced biopharmaceutical sectors globally.

Silva also referred to Fidel’s presence in the biotechnological cooperation with China, made official in 2004 and which resulted in three joint ventures to develop and commercialize key monoclonal antibodies used to treat cancer, different drugs, vaccines and agricultural products, among others.

In turn, Chinese academic He Qin said that under Fidel’s guidance, Cuba built a solid foundation to address technological inequality amid the neoliberal globalization, overcame many difficulties and relies on science to improve the live of the people.

During the meeting, other speakers from both countries also recalled the legacy of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution on biotechnology and images of his constant contact with members of the sector were shown.

pgh/iff/oda/ymr