In the high-level session of that meeting held in the Dominican Republic, he announced that the largest of the Antilles will host the 24th Conference of Ibero-American Water Directors in November this year.
He said his nation is willing to make available to the Ibero-American community a training program and development of specialized technical skills for the comprehensive management of water, with postgraduate courses, master’s degrees, and doctorates in Cuban universities.
Regarding Cuba’s responsibility to hold the presidency of the Group of 77+China, he stated it carries it out with the conviction that solidarity and collaboration must prevail and the Ibero-American Conference, through inclusive cooperation, can and should contribute to achieve that shared goal.
He also stated that in the face of the empire’s attempts to recolonize and impose a unique culture and models, the region unites under the leadership of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac), honoring the commitment to the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.
In his speech, Díaz-Canel also denounced the intensification of the United States blockade against the Caribbean nation with the aim of sowing discouragement in Cuban families and strangling the island’s economy.
As another sign of the latent hatred of that policy, he referred to the hostility suffered by Cuban baseball players and their families in the semifinal of the 5th World Baseball Classic held in Miami.
“It was a shameful spectacle, only possible due to the active incitement and complicity of the political authorities of that city,” Díaz-Canel pointed out.
As an insult to the truth, he described the inclusion of Cuba in the spurious United States list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism, which makes all financial and commercial transactions extremely difficult, as well as credit possibilities for Cuba. He thanked the valuable accompaniment of Ibero-America for orejecting the blockade and their demands for the exclusion of Cuba from the arbitrary US list.
The Cuban head of state also reiterated solidarity with the legitimate governments of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia, subjected to persistent destabilization attempts.
He supported Argentina’s legitimate claim to sovereignty over its territories and reaffirmed the historic commitment to self-determination and independence for the people of Puerto Rico.
Similarly, he ratified the commitment to the peace process in Colombia; and he called to support the Haitian people, always respecting their self-determination and sovereignty.
He recognized the Dominican Republic for the remarkable results achieved in these two years of leadership of the Ibero-American community, and he wished Ecuador success in its new functions as pro tempore secretariat.
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