The IV Conference “The Nation and Emigration” began this Saturday as part of the continuous and irreversible strengthening of ties between Cuba and its nationals abroad. The opening session, at the Convention Palace, was attended by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez.
45 years after that first dialogue in 1978 promoted by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, the IV Conference “The Nation and Emigration” began in Havana, which on Saturday and Sunday will bring together nearly 400 Cubans residing in different parts of the world.
When the President of the Republic Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez entered the plenary hall of the Convention Palace, a diverse and plural audience, standing, exclaimed Viva Cuba!, Viva Cuba!... with the force with which the Children love the land where they were born.
The notes of the National Anthem, sung with the pride contained in its combative lyrics, later gave way to sustained applause and vibrant exclamations of: Down with the Blockade! and Long live Fidel!
When delivering the opening words of this meeting, the member of the Political Bureau and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, stressed that "respect for the sovereignty of the Homeland and the will to diversify ties are premises that those of us who attend this conference.
He then referred to the economic limitations and the difficult situation that the country is experiencing. In the midst of the complex circumstances facing Cuba, the Minister ratified the firm commitment to safeguarding social justice.
In his speech, interrupted several times with loud applause, Rodríguez Parrilla highlighted essential topics such as solidarity with Cuba, the support of fellow citizens in difficult times that the nation has experienced during all these years, the permanent fight against the blockade, and the increasingly active participation of Cubans residing abroad in many of the economic and social projects of national life.
"This Conference is a fortunate and unequivocal example of the continuous and irreversible strengthening of relations between Cuba and its nationals abroad, the result of the dialogue initiated in November 1978, promoted by Fidel," reiterated the head of Cuban diplomacy.
Likewise, he reviewed important moments that occurred during these decades that illustrate how progress has been made in the application of measures in the policy of bringing together emigration and the nation.
He recalled the concepts of Fidel and Army General Raúl Castro Ruz on this issue, and more recently the repeated interventions of President Díaz-Canel about the positions of the Cuban government on this matter, where the premise for strengthening these ties has been that they "respect the soil that saw them born and formed them with love."
"Our culture is one, our history leads us to Martí's formula of triumphant love, it is our faith," stated the Cuban Foreign Minister.
And a few seconds later he posed the phrase that resonated deeply in the room: "The nation grows among Cubans living abroad, wherever there is a Cuban who carries in their soul the feeling of the Homeland."
«In Cuba there are the people and the history that belongs to all Cubans. We are honored that you are in the Homeland for this reunion," the Minister of Foreign Affairs assured those who traveled from different parts of the world with Cuba in their hearts.
Thus, the debate was open in this space for dialogue between Cubans willing to contribute to the development of their country, from wherever they live, with the aim of contributing to enhancing national pride.
(Taken from the web of Cuban Presidency)