Dear members of the Austria-Cuba Friendship Association, friends of Cuba:
We thank you all for your presence at this tribute to Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz. It is an honor that this event is being held before the start of the Association's General Assembly, thus recalling the values of solidarity and cooperation among peoples that Fidel so strongly defended.
At this moment in time, the thinking and work of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution take on an even more universal dimension and absolute relevance.
Fidel's thinking is based on unwavering pillars that have guided the Cuban people and their relationship with the world:
First, national sovereignty and the self-determination of peoples. The principle that no country has the right to impose its political or economic model on another.
Second, unity as a driving force for change. The conviction that peoples, united, are invincible.
Third, international solidarity as a human duty. The concept that sharing what one has, and not what one has left over, is an ethical imperative.
These principles are not abstract. They are embodied in Cuba's medical cooperation in dozens of countries, in its scholarship program for foreign students, and in its resistance to the longest economic, commercial, and financial blockade in history. This blockade, which was almost unanimously rejected by the international community at the UN General Assembly, is the main obstacle to Cuba's development and a violation of international law.
It is here, at this point where theory meets practice, that the Austria-Cuba Friendship Association displays its fundamental value. You are the embodiment on Austrian soil of that third pillar of Fidel's thinking: international solidarity.
Your work is not complementary; it is essential. It is the cultural and political bridge that challenges hegemonic narratives and builds mutual understanding. In a world of fragmented information, your work to disseminate and defend the truth about Cuba is an antidote to misinformation.
For this work to endure and grow stronger, it is imperative to look to the future. Now that 99 years have passed since Fidel's birth and almost nine since his physical disappearance, his ideals of social justice, dignity, and internationalism are the same ones that mobilize new global generations in the face of contemporary challenges. They are the ones that you uphold and that the younger generation is called upon to continue defending in order to achieve a better world for all.
The best tribute to Fidel is perseverance. The best tribute to Fidel is what you, Cuba's friends in solidarity, do every day.
Let us remember together what Fidel said very early on in the Revolution, and I quote: "The world has shown solidarity with Cuba, and that is why Cuba feels more and more solidarity with all the peoples of the world. Cuba has had the opportunity to experience what solidarity among peoples means. That word is full of meaning for Cubans, and that is why we, who know what global solidarity means, feel obligated to all peoples who need our solidarity. Cuba owes much of its ability to resist the attacks of imperialism to that solidarity, and Cuba knows that with that solidarity it will continue to fight and continue to resist."
Let us work together, with the seriousness and commitment that this friendship deserves, to continue strengthening the ties between Austria and Cuba, and may the legacy of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz live on in each one of us.
Thank you very much.