“Cuba is a country of great importance, not only for the Caribbean but for the world,” said Dennis Francis.
14ymedio, Madrid, 29 June 2024 — The official visit to Cuba of the current president of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis, shows that the Island has an undisputed ally in the organization. “Cuba is a country of great importance, not only for the Caribbean but for the world,” Francis said in one of his public speeches, where he also described the Cuban as a “great people.”
Through his official account on X, the diplomat, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, expanded his praise: “As a founding member of the United Nations, Cuba has always advocated for building a better, inclusive and egalitarian world. A world in which there is peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all. While we strive to achieve these objectives, I thank Cuba for its vision and leadership and I look forward to a future collaboration towards our shared goals.” Francis did not say, however, that the Island entered the UN under the presidency of Ramón Grau, in 1945, almost 14 years before the triumph of the Revolution.
Similarly, and according to the Minister of Public Health, José Ángel Portal Miranda, whom he met this Friday, Francis highlighted his “admiration” for the “achievements” of the Island in the health field and conveyed to the doctors “a recognition for keeping up the social conquests forged in Cuba.”
The three held a meeting with the Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez, in which he highlighted “Cuba’s commitment and contribution to multilateralism
For his part, Miguel Díaz-Canel, with whom the diplomat also met yesterday, described the meeting as a “fruitful exchange.” The Cuban president thanked Francis through his networks “for his recognition of Cuba’s performance and commitment to the search for solutions to the challenges of the nations of the South during our presidency of the G-77 and China.”
Earlier, the three held a meeting with the Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodríguez, in which he highlighted “Cuba’s commitment and contribution to multilateralism,” according to the state agency Prensa Latina.
“In the countries of the South we know that this is the place where we are best heard and where, when we are united and act together, we can make the legitimate interests of humanity and the peoples prevail,” Rodríguez added at the meeting.
This Friday was the penultimate in a three-day visit by Francis to the Island.
During a speech on Friday afternoon at the University of Havana, he stressed that “the United Nations is in the DNA of Cuba” and that the Island has been a defender of “peace and respect for the sovereignty of all nations.”
He also thanked Havana for heeding the calls of the United Nations to send health personnel to countries such as Haiti and to regions such as West Africa during the Ebola crisis. There was, on the other hand, not a single allusion to the reports of several UN rapporteurs who described the conditions of Cuban doctors on the international missions as “forced labor.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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