New York, September 24 (RHC)-- Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has warned about newly announced military expenditures that are likely to throw the world into a new arms race, while diverting resources badly needed to build a world of peace.
The Cuban president made this assertion at the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit being held Monday at the UN General Assembly in New York.
“There can be no development without peace, and no peace and stability without development. There can be no peace and security for people suffering high levels of poverty, chronic hunger and malnutrition, poor health and poor access to drinking water, illiteracy, and high rates of infant mortality,” the Cuban President stressed before the audience gathered at the UN headquarters.
Diaz Canel noted that in order to achieve a world in which peace prevails, and conflicts are settled peacefully, it is urgent to address the root causes that generate them. “Much remains to be done to make Mandela’s dreams come true,” Díaz-Canel stated.
At another moment of his speech, the Cuban President stressed that the only tribute worthy of Mandela’s memory is to promote the development of disadvantaged nations, through concrete acts rather than words; through cooperation, not intervention; through solidarity rather than the pillaging of their resources.
During the speech, the Cuban leader spoke about the island’s support of the South African people´s struggle against apartheid and recalled the iconic embrace between the historic leader of the revolution, Fidel Castro, and the anti-apartheid leader, Nelson Mandela, who visited Cuba in 1991, shortly after his release from prison. “Let us remember the political prisoner, the defender of human rights and the rights of his people, and the politician who changed history,” Díaz-Canel stated in reference to Mandela.
The Cuban president also recalled that Cuba and Africa are united by ties of blood, and pointed to the impact of African cultural heritage on the Cuban idiosyncrasy. He explained that the island's cooperation with the peoples of Africa has been maintained for more than 50 years, as a priority of its foreign policy.
The Cuban leader concluded by calling on the international community to work for a future of peace and to truly and fully honor the unforgettable Mandela,
