At the plenary session of the Ministerial Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), based in this capital, Martínez recalled that in 1960, Fidel Castro Ruz said, “The future of our country necessarily has to be a future of men of science, of men of thought.”

Since then, Cuba has kept maintained that premise, he said, and noted the country’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the permanent willingness to contribute with all States, based on the knowledge acquired for the use of nuclear technologies in function of peace and sustainable development.

He added that the Agency’s initiatives support the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals, including food security, health, energy sources, infrastructure, access to drinking water, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, conservation and sustainable use of the oceans.

He indicated that through technical cooperation programs, nuclear applications for peaceful use are promoted and implemented in the member countries, and Cuba acknowledges their value and establishes a solid legal and security basis for the contribution to sustainable development.

According to Martínez, since its incorporation, Cuba has maintained an active participation in it, and is a reference country in Latin America and the Caribbean, a matter of mutual benefit and impact on priority sectors such as health, agriculture, food security, industry and the environment, in addition to the creation and improvement of facilities, and the progress in the training of experts, an experience that has been made available to the IAEA and the region.

The deputy prime minister pointed out that nuclear applications demonstrate their potential in achieving sustainable development in our nations, with benefits such as establishing irradiation capabilities for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and the use of nuclear techniques to help reduce carbon emissions.

However, Cuba’s efforts face the negative impact of the criminal economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the Government of the United States, and its extraterritorial enforcement.

All of this threatens development and the well-being of the people and hinders the full exercise of the legitimate right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, he stressed.

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