Tokyo, June 3.—The Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Cuba, Eduardo Martínez Díaz, addressed the session on national statements at the Island States Summit on the Oceans (ISOS), which opened today in the presence of Japanese Emperor Naruhito.
During his remarks, the Cuban Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that only through effective and solidarity-based multilateralism, free from unilateral coercive measures, can we ensure the health of the oceans—an indispensable condition for the sustainability of life on Earth. He also addressed the obstacles to Cuba’s climate adaptation posed by the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the government of the United States of America against the island.
The Cuban delegation is participating in this important international forum alongside government representatives, international organizations, and institutions involved in maritime, environmental, and sustainability issues.
Related information...
Remarks by Deputy Prime Minister Eduardo Martínez Díaz at the high-level segment of the Island States Ocean Summit, June 3, 2026
Excellencies, Distinguished Heads of State and Government, Delegates.
We have come to this Ocean Summit of Island States, driven by the urgency to mobilize the international community to protect marine ecosystems and strengthen ocean governance. In addition to anthropogenic threats, the challenges in protecting these ecosystems are intensifying in the face of the imminent unilateral and unregulated exploitation of mineral resources located beyond national jurisdictions. This entails unprecedented environmental and political risks.
A decade ago, the 2030 Agenda was adopted at the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development, and the urgency of accelerating its implementation is more evident than ever. Throughout the intersessional period, between the United Nations Conferences in Lisbon and Nice, we observed with concern the limited global progress in implementing SDG 14.
Cuba believes in multilateralism as the only path to solving environmental and political challenges, whose effects are not confined to national borders and are not proportional to the climate debt accumulated by each State. Consequently, the Republic of Cuba was among the first States to sign and ratify the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.
Today we can demonstrate concrete results in the conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal biodiversity, thanks to the implementation of the National Biodiversity Program through 2030, as well as tangible goals for climate change adaptation. However, the main obstacle to Cuba’s climate adaptation is the Economic, Commercial, and Financial Blockade imposed by the government of the United States of America.
The Embargo prevents us from acquiring equipment and raw materials, hinders the transition to renewable energy, impedes international financing for environmental projects, and restricts supplies for reconstruction following the impact of extreme weather events; severely hampering the conservation and recovery of marine-coastal ecosystems.
We reaffirm Cuba’s irrevocable commitment to the protection of the oceans and the accelerated implementation of the 2030 Agenda. We ratify, as an irrevocable principle, the status of all resources located outside national jurisdictions as the Common Heritage of Mankind.
We know that only through effective and solidarity-based multilateralism, free from unilateral coercive measures, can we guarantee the health of the oceans—an indispensable condition for the sustainability of life on Earth.
Thank you very much.
(Cubaminrex-Embacuba Japan)