Offering an overview of the current world scenario, Rodríguez Parrilla commented that “it is a difficult time, situations that characterized the world in previous decades are being overcome. It is a time of change and naturally provokes threats to international peace and security.
“It affects the development of people, it generates growing polarization and inequality amidst the pretensions of imperialism, fundamentally that of the United States, to safeguard a unipolar order that has already been surpassed by history. And it does so with coercive instruments, like those used against Cuba.”
The chancellor pointed out that the situation is also marked by “the proliferation of conflicts, economic instability, disruption of trade flows, artificial price increases,” the consequences of which have repercussions, above all, on the people.
"Sometimes we talk about a change of era, other times about a time of change, but there is no doubt that the contradictions contained in the international system require solutions that only the peoples can find through their struggles, especially the peoples. from the south.
“We come from a pandemic that made the inequity that the world suffers more evident. The richest 1% on the planet accumulate more than 40% of the wealth. There are recent data that illustrate how in recent years that 1% monopolized two thirds of the wealth produced,” said the minister, also recalling “the environmental unsustainability and the tremendous danger of the development of nuclear weapons and new weapons of extermination in mass or high lethality.”
“One feels,” the Foreign Minister continued in his speech, “that we are witnessing a change of era that will have to make its way if we want the human species to survive. This will have to give way to a different international order and different relationships between human beings and the countries of the North and South.
“A new international order is needed and we will have to fight. It will never be the result of a gift from imperialism, from developed capitalism, but we will have to push, give birth to a new era.
“In particular, Cuba, which is an island subjected to a cruel, exclusive, suffocating policy of North American imperialism, will have to fight as it has done throughout its history. Today there is no more important task for Cuban diplomacy, for the foreign service of the Republic of Cuba, which goes far beyond the ministry; It belongs to the Cuban State as a whole, to the Government, to the National Assembly of People's Power, to political and mass organizations and non-governmental organizations. It is necessarily a fight for everyone.”
He stressed the importance of finding ways to overcome this economic siege, “not only in terms of resistance, but also on the basis of a truly creative effort that allows us to overcome problems and recover the economy, which then allows us not only to continue growing. , but developing the country.”
The mission of diplomacy is to contribute to this resistance effort
The chancellor explained that two thirds of the Cuban embassies are very small. “They are embassies of two couples of diplomats. A peculiarity of the Cuban foreign service is that spouses necessarily have to work and be hired in our state missions.”
He added that a quarter of the missions are from a single couple of Cuban diplomats “and they have to do everything, because the demands of the struggles of our people and the difficult international situation require it.
"For this reason, the preparation of diplomatic personnel is very important, which not only includes specialists from Minrex, but also from other entities of our Government."
This work has as its center “the priorities of national life; Above all, the search for additional sources of income for the country, the solution in the best possible conditions to ensure imports of food and fuel.”
Rodríguez Parrilla asserted that Cuban diplomats “work with a very personal mission, from a deep conviction of the problems that our people are experiencing today, the scarcity, the difficulties, the deficiencies, which their families suffer. They feel it in their hearts and work hard in the search for economic options for Cuban imports; the attraction of foreign investment, the solidarity that is expressed in many ways, because Cuba is a very loved country internationally.
“Likewise, solidarity movements, Cuban associations, the role of diplomats in international economic organizations and, in general, in multilateral organizations stand out; the promotion of foreign participation in our events, forums; the development of links between Cubans residing abroad with development projects, sometimes local, that are fundamental to our economy.”
Today, the chancellor stressed, the fundamental mission of Cuban diplomacy is to “contribute to this effort of resistance, to alleviate the severe economic difficulties that we suffer today and to do so in the direction of economic growth and development in these moments of contingency that the country suffers from essentially external causes.”
The majority of Cubans residing in the US want a normal relationship with the country
Later, he considered that there are many opportunities for Cubans living abroad, despite the siege that Cuba suffers, “without many natural resources, but with the enormous talent of our people and their ability to overcome difficulties and even , helping others in difficult times.”
The Foreign Minister noted that “it is impressive how, in the midst of the pandemic, during which the set of coercive measures was strongly tightened, Cuba sent dozens of medical brigades to more than 40 countries, in an international cooperation effort that is very recognized.
“The essential thing is that foreign policy, the enormous sympathy that Cuba arouses in the world, is also reflected in resources and ways to contribute to the development of our economy. In that sense, a significant force is the Cubans who, under different migratory conditions, reside abroad, but who feel deeply for their homeland and their family.”
He recalled that in recent years there has been important development, “especially small projects, which come from that patriotic sector, which feels Cuba as its homeland and wants to contribute to our development.”
He stated that the recent Fourth Conference The Nation and Emigration expressed, as a fundamental characteristic, “an extraordinary patriotism, a great willingness to participate in the solution of the dissimilar problems that we face today, in the insertion of personal projects of those who come and go, They circulate, they are in the country for a while and abroad, but they feel deeply Cuban.”
The debates at the conference – he added – reflected enormous patriotism among Cubans living abroad and living in diverse conditions. "Everyone feels a great desire to contribute to the solution of our problems, to accompany their families and to develop normal relations between Cubans who live abroad and those who are in their homeland, whose main obstacle today is US policy."
He highlighted that the majority of Cubans residing in the United States want a normal relationship with the country. "But there is no doubt that today US policy continues to be repressive, politically motivated, and seeks to use these migratory movements in a political manipulation of the issue, to which Cuba has responded with an increasingly open policy in the country's relationship with Cubans who live temporarily and permanently abroad.”
Growth in immigration procedures and legalization of documents
Rodríguez Parrilla pointed out that in recent years there has been a growth in these flows, which are not strictly migratory, but rather reflect circularity, “the universal tendency to reside abroad for a time. Of course, in recent years this has generated a significant growth in immigration procedures and the legalization of documents.”
He explained that “today there is no automation process for these processes in the world. Legalization as a rule ends in a seal, a stamp. The documents have to go through a process, which goes from the registration institutions, such as, for example, a university, and a legalization from the Minrex is required when receiving these documents, so that they have legal effect abroad.
“It is a complicated process and the numbers have been growing in a relatively short time and have clogged those systems. An additional problem is that these documents have a perishable life: sometimes, the foreign government claims that the document is less than six months old.”
Faced with this reality, he stated, many measures have been taken. For example, the incorporation of 65 young people from the Military Service, who today work at the Minrex responding to that need.
“There is a group of ministry workers who work hard. There has been a modernization of those processes. And more fundamental solutions are also underway,” he said.
He explained that a first solution would be for developed countries not to put up barriers. A second, that Cuba adheres to an international convention that allows up to 60% of the documents not to have to be legalized through a procedure for them to have legal effect outside of Cuba. That instrument is the Apostille Convention and studies are being carried out in that regard.
“A great effort is made to automate these processes. Thirdly, there is an effort to integrate and facilitate this entire long process that comes from the registry entities, the consultancies, and the legalization unit of the Minrex, which is an effort that is about to conclude and that I hope will soon allow the integration , compact these processes more,” he said.
2023 was an important year for foreign policy
Later, the chancellor stated that “the protagonist is the Cuban people, the way in which they participate in foreign policy. The process of the Constitution of the Republic was very important. Our people participate very actively in these issues. Along with baseball and the weather, foreign policy is also a topic for social gatherings, which surprises foreign visitors.”
He highlighted, in the period we are in, since the changes in the Constitution, “the leadership of the president, the way in which Cuba participates in international arenas, with an influence greater than its geographical size or its GDP; the sympathy, affection and solidarity that it generates, the respect of the adversaries, the feat that the Cuban people do every day in defense of independence, and the consideration that foreign policy is made by all of us, the mass organizations, the leadership and orientation of the PCC, the role of the National Assembly, the role of non-governmental civil society organizations and the role of people in the street. "The confrontation with the genocidal blockade, the increasingly universal demand for the elimination of the arbitrary list of countries that sponsor terrorism."
Cuba – continued the Foreign Minister – “also has a significant diplomatic and consular network, diplomatic relations almost without exceptions with all States, it is well known internationally, and they are the most austere and cheapest embassies on the planet. Consular collection, which is a process that every State carries out, is in a significant part a contribution to the economic life of the country.”
Underlining that 2023 was an important year, he referred to the Cuban presidency of the Group of 77 and China, which was a great effort. He recalled the presence of Cuba, in its capacity as president of the Group of 77, in international events, and the celebration of the Summit in September in Havana.
“It has been one of the most participatory summits in recent years on an international scale, and probably one of the most austere that has been held in recent years on this planet. And it had a great impact. It is totally unprecedented that there was a second summit a few months after that one, in Uganda, which was also very important,” he commented.
What determines the essence of the relationship with the US is the blockade
Later, he maintained that “the so-called American exceptionalism serves to characterize the isolation of the United States on the planet in relation to Cuba. The nature, the essential meaning of the relationship, of the successive Governments with respect to the Cuban Revolution, has sought to establish imperialist domination over our homeland. We have diplomatic relations, there are official and some unofficial exchanges in areas of common interest, but what determines the essence of that relationship is the blockade, which today is applied with unprecedented rigor.
“Perhaps we have lacked an explanation of this phenomenon in a more accessible way, especially to younger people. But the main nature of the blockade is that it interferes and seeks to suffocate the relationship, not only with the United States, but between Cuba and the rest of the planet. And the worst happened during the pandemic. The blockade has never been so cruel as at that moment, and it is inexcusable that the United States Government has chosen the pandemic as an ally to intensify the blockade.”
The chancellor recalled that cruises and flights were cut. Brutal measures were applied. The 243 additional measures were applied, “we are not counting individual sanctions here.”
In the pandemic – he added – “it became clear that an oxygen cylinder cannot be imported, in the midst of asphyxiation, without a license from the United States Government. During the pandemic, Cuba's oxygen imports from third countries were hindered. “That was an unforgivable crime.”
Rodríguez Parrilla recalled that in the previous Democratic Government certain steps had been taken in the positive direction in relation to Cuba, but with the Biden Administration there was continuity in the Democratic policy regarding the Republican policy with regard to Cuba.
“The effects of Cuba's inclusion on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism take place during the Biden Democratic Government. “This policy has a lethal effect, above all, from an economic point of view.”
There has also been a continuity in the extreme intensification of the blockade. “This policy will have to change, because it is obsolete, it is opposed by the majority of Americans, the majority of Cubans living in the United States, and it corresponds to the period of the Cold War, but we will have to overcome it and develop ourselves with our own efforts,” he stated.
Cuban Foreign Minister: A crime against humanity, genocide against the Palestinian people
Addressing the situation in recent months in Gaza, the chancellor denounced that it is “a crime against humanity, genocide against the Palestinian people. "Cuba has always advocated for a broad, just and lasting solution, based on the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination."
He highlighted that, recently, the young people of the ISRI were among the first to take to the streets to express their solidarity with the Palestinian people, and that Cuba has made major proposals, including those of sending a mission from the United Nations General Assembly to Palestinian territory and incorporate Palestine into the UN as a member state.
“What is happening today in Palestine would not be happening without the complicity of the United States Government,” he said, adding that Cuba has developed concrete actions of solidarity with the Palestinian people and called for international mobilization in that regard.
Efforts have continued to clarify the situation of Asel and Landy
Regarding the two Cuban doctors kidnapped in Kenya, Assel Herrera Correa and Landy Rodríguez Hernández, the chancellor reported that the Government made, from the beginning, intense efforts, “many of which must be discreet,” to protect the doctors and preserve their lives. “We have been very respectful with their relatives in the handling of public information,” he stated.
“The information collected by our Government has caused us to maintain intense attention. Part of it was the visit of Esteban Lazo as a high-level special envoy to Kenya.
The information from the Kenyan Government has been very valuable, but questions remain that need to be answered.
“Efforts have continued, involving dozens of countries, including the United States Government, to clarify the situation of Asel and Landy. The efforts will continue with all persistence and rigor. We will not rule out opportunities to get to the truth of what happened. There are legal requirements for these processes.
“We have requested information from the United States, which it has not yet shared with our country. United States forces have operated in the area. We will share the truth with family members and the people, but some procedures of this nature take time and are very delicate. We will not stop until we reach a level of verification of the data, which until now is scarce and even contradictory,” he explained.
Despite the hostility of the North American Government, we will continue to build bridges
In another moment of the Round Table this Thursday, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla stressed that the reason for our foreign policy is the protagonism of the people.
“The participatory way in which we approach foreign policy decisions is significant. We must take into account the opinion of the people in these aspects. Today communication is an indispensable tool in the communication of people, but it is also used by the Empire as a weapon.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must be permanently accountable to our people, to the National Assembly. Not simply inform, but also listen and debate. Communication is a strength and foreign policy is democratic, participatory. Foreign policy must be flexible, adjust to the circumstances. Communication is an instrument of the politics of the Revolution.”
Rodríguez Parrilla quoted President Díaz-Canel and reiterated that Cuba is suffering a real siege, an extraterritorial economic war. Even so, "despite the hostility of the North American Government, we will continue to build bridges with the people of the United States and we will strengthen ties with Cuban emigrants in any corner of our planet." (EmbaCubaZambia-Cubadebate)