Miguel Diaz-Canel

Havana, October 26 (RHC)-- Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel-  praised Monday the role of the Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean-ECLAC and its Executive-Secretary, Alicia Bárcena, for their dedication and efforts in pursuit of sustainable development in the region. He also thanked them fair and unprejudiced approach towards the island.

Addressing by video conference the opening ceremony of the UN Regional Economic Office 38th Session, the Cuban dignitary said that for the two years the island held ECLAC's pro-tempore chair, it was honored to have accompanied the main processes aimed at implementing the 2030 Agenda and strengthening South-South and triangular cooperation.

Diaz-Canel noted that working to reduce the existing gaps and consolidating the regional space, Cuba sought concerted and comprehensive solutions to common or similar problems, always with the promise of "leaving no one behind."

Regarding the dire scenario created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cuban leader said that "In Latin America and the Caribbean, a shameful degree of economic and social inequality persists. The structural and systemic gaps between nations, and within each country, remain and are widening in a complex and challenging international context at all levels. It is a fact that the pandemic has accentuated the limitations of our production systems and exposed all our vulnerabilities.

Diaz-Canel recalled that the region is experiencing slower economic growth than other areas of the world, has historically performed less well than in the last seven decades.

Faced with this dramatic prospect, he stressed that it is urgent to promote comprehensive policies for sustainable development, mitigation, adaptation, and resilience.

During his address, the Cuban President voiced his support to Costa Rica and its President, Carlos Alvarado, and wished them the best during their Pro Tempore Chairmanship of the Commission, which formally being transferred Monday.

Miguel Diaz-Canel wrapped his address by reiterating Cuba's commitment to fulfilling the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals in Our America. 

"It is a debt to all the heroes of American independence and the emancipation dreams of their peoples. Everything that depends on our efforts, we will do," he said.