HAVANA, June 16 (RHC) Cuban president Raul Castro called on the Group of 77 plus China, whose summit was held June 15 and 16 in the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz, to join efforts and close ranks in order to build a fairer world.

Speaking at the plenary session of the Summit of the Group of 77, which marked its 50th anniversary, Raul Castro said that the gap between North and South continues to widen and a deep global economic crisis resulting from the failure of neo-liberalism, imposed from main centers of power with devastating effects on South nations, has become the longest and most complex of its kind in the past 80 years.

The Cuban leader noted that as the deadline given to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals comes to its end, there are still 1.2 million people living in extreme poverty in the world; one in every person suffers from chronic hunger; 45 percent of children, who died before turning five years of age, are victims of malnutrition; the external debt has gone up to unprecedented levels; climate change worsens as a main result of production and irrational consumption patterns in industrialized nations.

In the face of this reality, the Cuban president noted, the principle of the common compromises gains significance, though on different stands in terms of the ways of facing climate change and other environment-related challenges.

The Cuban leader recalled the statement by Fidel Castro when he said that there are resources to finance development; what is missing is political will on the part of the governments of developed countries.

Unity is the only factor that will allow the prevalence of our large majority, said Raul Castro and he referred to the implementation of the post-2015 Development Agenda, which will include the Sustainable Development Goals.

The head of state recalled that at present the sovereignty of the states is being  violated as well as the principles of international law and the postulates of the New International Economic Order. New precepts are being imposed to legalize foreign interference, as force and threats are used  in an unpunished manner as well as the media to promote divisions.

The Cuban president called for solidarity with those who are under threat of aggression. The clearest case is Venezuela, he pointed out and went on to denounce that the most sophisticated means of subversion and destabilization are being used against that country, including coup attempts, which respond to the non-conventional warfare that the United States currently uses to overthrow governments and destabilize societies.
Speaking about Cuba, Raul said that his people have been the victims of a criminal US blockade, terrorist actions that have claimed thousands of lives and have inflicted huge material damage. The absurd blacklisting of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism is an offence to the Cuban people, he stressed.

He also referred to recent denunciations against the promotion of illegal, covert and subversive acts, as well as the use of the Internet for destabilization plans, not only against Cuba, but also against countries, whose governments do not accept interference or tutelage. For this reason, any country may be the target of informatics attacks aimed at encouraging distrust, destabilization and potential conflicts.

Finally, the Cuban president expressed, on behalf of the Cuban people, his gratefulness to the Group of 77 plus China for its firm support of the island and he said “let’s take the opportunity of this 50th anniversary of the Group of 77 to renew our common compromise of joining efforts to close ranks in order to build a fairer world,” he concluded.