United Nations, October 8 (RHC) –- Cuba has warned at the United Nations about the permanent growing development gap between rich and poor countries, despite the availability of resources and technologies to revert such an unfavorable situation.

Speaking at the Second Commission of the UN General Assembly, Cuban Ambassador Rodolfo Reyes criticized the huge budgets dedicated to the war industry, which he said should be used to fight poverty, hunger and other problems stemming from prevailing asymmetries.

A system that dedicates one trillion 700 billion dollars to military spending, while 700 million people are living in extreme poverty throughout the world, where the infant mortality rate has climbed to 48 per every 1,000 live births, and millions of children suffering from chronic malnutrition, cannot work at all.

The Cuban diplomat called on rich countries to make efforts to adopt by consensus the draft resolution for a New World Economic Order, which has been promoted by the Group of 77 plus China, a bloc made up of 134 out of all 193 UN member nations.