The First Secretary of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, participated for the first time this Friday in the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, after the status of Observer for Cuba was approved on December 11.
When intervening by videoconference from the Red Room of the Palace of the Revolution in the meeting that at least once a year brings together the Heads of State of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the Cuban president pointed out that “economic relations, trade, financial and cooperation with the member states of the Union are mutually beneficial and "we are ready to collaborate on all the priorities of the Eurasian Economic Commission for this year."
Díaz-Canel specified that some thirty joint actions have been defined in priority areas such as economic-commercial; banking-financial; health and biotechnology; energy, geology and mining; agro-industrial; cultural, sports and communications.
Today as never before, said the Cuban President, it is urgent to unite efforts and wills in favor of the human species, cruelly stratified by the market, which marginalizes and excludes the majority, causing costly imbalances of all kinds, which are now painfully done. more visible due to the impact of the pandemic.
"In the midst of the adverse global scenario that I have described, some nations suffered the additional aggression of blockades and other unilateral coercive measures, all in violation of International Law and the UN Charter," denounced the Head of State.
Díaz-Canel thanked the countries that make up the Eurasian Economic Union "for the permanent rejection of the genocidal policy of the United States government, which has escalated to unprecedented levels, even in the exceptional conditions of the pandemic."
Under that brutal harassment, he affirmed, we have managed to confront COVID-19 and show encouraging results, and “this is due in the first place, to the firm determination of our people to defend the political system chosen by the majority, which can be summarized as a set of social policies that prioritize the human being over any other good ”.
Cuban science, its scientists, researchers and Health personnel, commented the President, guarantee that we produce 85% of the drugs in the national action protocol to confront the pandemic, at the same time that 5 vaccine candidates are being developed, that are in different phases of clinical trial.
The president explained that Soberana 02 and Abdala are going through phase III with very promising results, while Soberana Plus, for convalescent patients from COVID-19, advances in phase II of the clinical trial.
Díaz-Canel expressed "Cuba's willingness to establish effective cooperation with the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union, based on the exchange of experiences between experts from our countries, medical cooperation and collaboration with our vaccine candidates."
We also declare ourselves ready, he said, to begin the process of insertion in the common market of medicines, devices and medical technology, whose creation is endorsed in the Treaty of the Eurasian Economic Union.
The Head of State reiterated Cuba's interest in achieving greater participation by the business community of the member countries of the Council in foreign investment projects on the Island, under the protection of modern and attractive legislation and the facilities provided by Mariel Special Development Zone. He also spoke of "establishing the bases for collaboration between the Development Bank of the Eurasian Economic Union and the banking system of the Republic of Cuba."
The president referred to cultural exchange, sports collaboration and the training of students through scholarship programs in areas of strength in each of our countries.
By tradition, by vocation and by the urgency of the complex times we are living in, "Cuba is firmly committed to solidarity, cooperation and integration, to strengthen ties in areas of mutual interest," said the Caribbean President, who was accompanied in the videoconference by Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas Ruíz, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz, and the Director General of Bilateral Affairs of the Foreign Ministry, Emilio Lozada García.
The challenges are enormous, but I am sure that the sum of our wills will allow us to overcome them. We are encouraged by the solidity of the Eurasian Economic Union and the confidence that together we can advance more quickly in favor of the development of our economies and the well-being of our peoples, concluded Díaz-Canel.
Cuba is the only country in Latin America that participates in this economic integration mechanism. Uzbekistan and Moldova are also in an observer state, although the latter nation did not participate in this meeting of the Supreme Council.
(Cubaminrex-Presidency)