Pretoria, October 25, 2019.- Cuba and the African countries are united by historical ties which have always been ruled by mutual solidarity and collaboration. In the case of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), we have very positive relations with its 16 Member States and within its sub regional organization where we have an accredited Ambassador.
With Zimbabwe, sister nation and member of SADC, we celebrate 39 years of uninterrupted diplomatic relations and a history of friendship that goes back to the heroic days of its peoples’ struggle to attain their definitive freedom and independence. Around 2,000 youth from Zimbabwe have graduated from different specialties in Cuban universities and hundreds of Cuban professionals have worked in Zimbabwe providing their support for the development of this sister country. At the present time we have a medical brigade in Zimbabwe in support of their health system.
Cuba, a country that has suffered for almost 60 years from the application of unilateral coercive measures by the United States, rejects the implementation of actions of this type as an instrument of political and economic coercion. Unilateral coercive measures are counter to the full enjoyment of all human rights, starting with the right to life, and they run counter to independence, sovereignty, development and the right to the free determination of peoples. In our historical struggle against the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the government of the United States against our people, and in all the battles we have had to fight, we have always had the support of Zimbabwe, the SADC counties and of Africa in general.
Consequently, our government endorsed the call for solidarity with the people and government of Zimbabwe and it supported the call for the immediate and unconditional lifting of all sanctions, in order to permit the country’s economic development, collected in the final document adopted at the ministerial meeting of NAM held in Caracas, Venezuela, and which will surely be endorsed by the NAM Summit in Baku.
We congratulate the member countries of the Southern African Development Community for promoting this initiative as a show of sub regional unity and support for a sister nation.
We ratify our support for the sister people and government of Zimbabwe, for SADC and for Africa, from whom we have inherited our strength and our spirit of struggle and resistance.
Havana, 25 October 2019