New Delhi, August 17 (RHC) -- Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said Saturday that coercive measures such as the U.S. blockade against the Caribbean island are a serious obstacle to the full achievement of economic and social development.

In his speech at the Third Summit of the Voice of the Global South, organized virtually by India, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Caribbean island called for multiplying solidarity and cooperation in the face of coercion, unilateralism and selfishness.

He recalled that his people have suffered for more than 60 years from the serious and negative impact of a suffocating economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States government, which has been intensified to the extreme since 2019.

The Cuban foreign minister pointed out that the arbitrary, fraudulent and unprovable inclusion of Cuba on the State Department's unilateral list of alleged terrorism-sponsoring nations further reinforces the effects of this inhuman policy.

Likewise, he took the opportunity to thank the international community for its displays of solidarity with the largest of the Antilles and for its rejection of this system of unilateral coercive measures that has been imposed against Cuba.

On the other hand, Bruno Rodriguez expressed his country's gratitude for the invitation to participate in the third Summit of the Voice of the Global South, which, he affirmed, is a forum to debate and channel the efforts of developing nations in order to face the enormous challenges in the midst of a complex international context.

In this regard, Rodriguez pointed out that if we really hope to advance towards the development of all these countries, it is imperative to articulate a new international economic order and reformulate the current financial architecture, based on equity, sovereign equality, mutual benefit and cooperation.

We urgently need to implement the internationally agreed climate agenda without further delay, in accordance with the principles of equity, common but differentiated responsibilities in the respective capacities, he specified.

The Cuban foreign minister added that facing climate change should not become an additional burden that the countries of the south cannot bear, so he considered that new support for cooperation and financing of these nations is fundamental in this effort.

Likewise, the head of the island's diplomacy stressed that the demand for development by the South is part of the battle to safeguard life on the planet.

Bruno Rodriguez pointed out that these values ​​and principles, together with the determined unity of the South, marked the Cuban presidency of the Group of 77 and China during 2023, and was evidence of the possibility of developing countries to become a relevant actor and an influential interlocutor in the sense of the interests of the peoples.

Finally, the Cuban foreign minister stressed that unity plus rich diversity becomes a strength of the nations of the South so that they can resume their rightful place within the international system and in that endeavor they can count on Cuba, he stressed. (PL)