The minister spoke before the 193-member forum on the fifth day of the General Debate and after calling for greater political will to address the structural and moral failures of the international system that prevent progress towards a just future.

“Peoples need less interference and more solidarity; less unequal exchange and more equity; less politicization and double standards and more dialogue, cooperation and respect for their inalienable right to choose their political, economic, social and cultural system,” he said earlier this week at the Summit of the Future.

As part of his agenda this week, Rodriguez held talks with Vietnamese President To Lam, and the foreign ministers of Russia, Sergey Lavrov; South Africa, Ronald Lamola, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates, Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

He also held meetings with high-level representatives of Venezuela, Nicaragua, Mexico, Vietnam, the European Union, Namibia, Senegal, Angola, Latvia, Kenya, Uzbekistan, the Vatican and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

His program also included talks with Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and with the UN representative for the Alliance of Civilizations, Miguel Ángel Moratinos.

In addition, he reaffirmed Cuba’s commitment to Palestine in meetings organized by the Non-Aligned Movement or the Meeting of the Group of Friends of the United Nations Charter.

He also advocated relations of respect and equality between the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and China, as well as exploring new opportunities between the bloc and the African Union.

During an open ministerial meeting convened by the Brazilian presidency of the G20, Bruno Rodríguez called for an urgent, deep and comprehensive reform, with open discussions in exchange scenarios such as the United Nations.

mh/ro/ebr