Déborah Rivas Saavedra

Havana, Jun 1 (RHC) The deputy head of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment of the Republic of Cuba, Déborah Rivas Saavedra, spoke on Tuesday at the 20th Session of the United Nations High-Level Committee on South-South Cooperation.

The official stressed that the current pandemic is the most recent proof that "the current challenges of our countries cannot be effectively faced in isolation and that independent efforts are insufficient, not only to achieve sustainable development, but to ensure peace, health, and the general welfare of the world's population."

In this context, she expressed that respect for International Law, multilateralism, alliances, and cooperation in solidarity among countries are the premises that will allow us to advance towards a better future, leaving no one behind.

The Vice Minister denounced the illegal economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the U.S. government, the application against the largest island of the Antilles of the extraterritorial Helms-Burton Act, and the arbitrary and unjustified inclusion of the nation in the list of countries sponsoring terrorism.

Rivas Saavedra commented that accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) fulfillment requires strengthening and expanding the means of implementation, particularly international development cooperation.