On Wednesday, the Partner Meeting of the Integrated National Financing Frameworks (INFF) 2025 mechanism took place in Spain.
In the panel “Development cooperation and sovereign financing priorities”, Ambassador Ernesto Soberón Guzmán, Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations, highlighted the commitment of developing countries to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In contrast, he noted the lack of international support and solidarity to follow up on the commitments made in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the 2030 Agenda, even before the Covid-19 pandemic.
In addition, he said that even in the complex inflationary context that characterizes the international scenario, Cuba is one of the countries in the Latin American region that invests the most in social assistance and social security, health, education, culture, and sports, with more than 60% of public expenditure allocated to these areas. This is despite the limitations imposed by the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on the country by the United States government for more than six decades.
In this regard, he reiterated that the blockade is the main obstacle to the development of our country and makes the national financial panorama unstable, undiversified and unsustainable. He stated that the refusal of hundreds of entities around the world to provide foreign loans to the country and to maintain banking, financial and commercial relations for fear of reprisals stemming from the blockade regulations is becoming increasingly evident. Unilateral coercive measures remain an undeniable obstacle, severely limiting integrated national financial frameworks for the achievement of the SDGs.
Finally, as for the cooperation efforts of international partners with our country, he called for an approach based on respect for sovereignty, co-creation of solutions and adaptation to national realities
Permanent Mission of Cuba to the United Nations