During his virtual participation in the High-level Meeting of the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative, the head of Foreign Affairs also advocated for the rights of the countries of the South.

According to the foreign minister, seven years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda, sustainable development is still a pipe dream for the vast majority of nations, especially when most are suffering the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The current unjust and undemocratic international order has led to a tiny minority of the richest population on the planet having greatly increased their fortunes in the midst of the pandemic, while hundreds of millions more people, according to conservative calculations, have entered poverty and extreme poverty last year alone,” he said.

During his speech before the United Nations, Rodríguez criticized that some powers allocate considerable resources to the arms race, while not fulfilling the commitment to contribute 0.7 percent of their GDP to Official Development Assistance.

In addition, he denounced the imposition of unilateral coercive measures that violate the UN Charter and International Law, while causing serious human and economic damage.

In this sense, he reiterated his rejection of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on Cuba by the United States for more than 60 years.

“This system of unilateral sanctions was intensified by Washington opportunistically, to unprecedented extremes in the context of the pandemic,” highlighted the highest representative of Cuban diplomacy.

Lastly, he called on all nations to demonstrate true commitment, political will and readiness for cooperation among all States, if sustainable development is to be possible.

According to the Cuban Foreign Ministry website, the global development initiative was launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping before the United Nations General Assembly on September 21.

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