Namibia, November 11th, 2021- Aldo Luis Fuentes Acosta,Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the Embassy of Cuba in Namibia, participated in the TV program “Good Morning Namibia”, on the national radio and television network NBC, where he explained the process of opening the Cuban borders to international tourism and the return to normality of the country, gradually and maintaining attention on COVID-19.
The Cuban diplomat also referred to the incidence of Covid-19 in the Antillean country. He also pointed out that regardless of the effects caused by the pandemic; Cuba had to deal with the accumulated impact of more than 60 years of the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States, as well as with 243 new measures. These regulations, implemented by former President Donald Trump, are still in effect, despite the change in administration.
More than 50 of these measures were applied when the coronavirus was already affecting Cuba. This meant that the country did not have access to critical medical supplements for the production of vaccines and the treatment of patients, the diplomat denounced.
The Chargé d'Affaires a.i assured that, however, thanks to the Cuban biotechnology industry, promoted at the initiative of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro, the country was able to create three vaccines against Covid-19 and two other vaccine candidates. This achievement of Cuban science, together with the country's universal and free public health system, allowed vaccination in record time for almost the entire Cuban population, Fuentes added.
The representative of the Caribbean Island explained that these two factors, together with the conscious action of the Cuban Government and people, allowed the drastic reduction of cases, the main element valued for the reopening of the national tourist centers, as well as for the restart of the academic year, both events scheduled for November 15th.
Fuentes explained the importance of tourism for the country's economy, as its main industry. The reactivation of this sector will promote a rapid take-off of the Cuban economy, due to its ability to generate productive chains with other national economic actors, both public and private.
Finally, the diplomat thanked, on behalf of the Cuban government and people, the Namibian government and people for their unconditional support to Cuba in the fight for the unconditional lifting of the US blockade. In particular, he recalled and conveyed gratitude for the speech of H.E. Hage Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia, at the recently concluded session of the United Nations General Assembly, where he called for the end of this US policy and invited President Joe Bien to resume the path of dialogue with Cuba.
