Suva, August 27. Dr. Filimon Manoni, Deputy Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) expressed his gratitude for the invariable willingness of Cuba to cooperate with the region, especially in the confrontation with COVID19, by receiving the Ambassador of Cuba in Fiji, Carlos Manuel Rojas Lago, in the headquarters of that Organization. Both examined the existing potential to strengthen political dialogue and the multifaceted ties between both parties, considering that the Caribbean nation holds the status of Forum Dialogue Partner.
Dr. Manoni described as very fruitful the exchange of experiences in dealing with the pandemic that took place between Cuban experts and their colleagues from the Pacific, while praising the willingness of Cuba to provide medical assistance to the countries of the region in this difficult juncture, specifically Palau. He added that young people trained as doctors in Cuba have made a valuable contribution to improving health care in the Pacific.
The senior regional official underlined the need to intensify exchanges in the area of confronting climate change, protection of the oceans and marine ecosystems, given the shared condition of Small Island States and in view of the next Conference of the Parties of the Framework Convention of United Nations on Climate Change.
On his side, the highest Cuban diplomatic representative here recognized the effective leadership of the PIF Secretariat in the management of the Pacific Humanitarian Pathway to face COVID19. On this issue, he made reference to the difficult context in which Cuba has had to face the pandemic, marked by the tightening of the illegal and cruel policy of economic and financial blockade imposed by the United States. Even so, he said, the results are positive and the country already has its own Sovereign 01 vaccine candidate, in the clinical trial phase.
The Cuban Ambassador reiterated the possibilities of expanding cooperation projects with the Pacific Islands on issues of common interest such as biotechnology, treatment of non-communicable diseases, confronting the deterioration of the climate, disaster risk management, sustainable agriculture and sports.
At the end of the meeting, officials from the Secretariat offered an update on the priority issues on the Organization's agenda.
Embassy of Cuba in Fiji