Mexico-Cuba Working Meeting
Andrés Manuel López Obrador holds Working Meeting with Cuba
Havana, Cuba, May 8, 2022.
The presidents of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, and of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, respectively, presented this Sunday the Joint Declaration between both countries, within the framework of the tour of Central America and the island carried out by the Mexican president.
The document signed at the Palace of the Revolution highlights the interest of both governments in promoting development in the educational, cultural, commercial and economic areas, while ratifying cooperation to face the challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic and other disasters or epidemics.
The Mexican head of state, in a long statement, rejected that the United States has excluded Cuba, along with Venezuela and Nicaragua, from the Summit of the Americas to be held next month in Los Angeles, California.
The Cuban president thanked the Mexican government for its firm position of rejecting the blockade imposed by the United States on the island. He also thanked Mexico’s intervention in CELAC to improve hemispheric relations and the efforts of the López Obrador government to declare Central America and the Caribbean a zone of peace.
In his speech, Díaz-Canel thanked the solidarity expressed by Mexico in the face of the explosion at the Saratoga hotel in Havana, which left thirty dead and dozens injured, in addition to severe damage to the historic building.
Cuba and Mexico sign trade and health agreements
Both leaders and their respective delegations met at the Palace of the Revolution in the Cuban capital to sign agreements on economic, financial and cultural matters.
In this sense, the Minister of Public Health of the Republic of Cuba, José Ángel Portal Miranda, and the Secretary of Health of the United Mexican States, Jorge Carlos Alcocer Varela, signed a cooperation agreement between both nations.
The agreement aims to establish the reference legal framework for both states to develop technical, scientific and academic cooperation activities in health. At the ceremony it was reported that the signed document reflects the will of Mexico and Cuba to strengthen bilateral historical ties, as well as promote the development of social and economic activities.
In his first activity in Havana, the Mexican president placed a floral offering at the José Martí Memorial in the Plaza de la Revolución, accompanied by the Cuban vice president, Salvador Valdés Mesa.
López Obrador received the José Martí National Order, the highest distinction granted by the Cuban State, from the hands of the Cuban president.
“We recognize your valuable contributions to regional peace, the efforts made by you to strengthen the unity of our region are remarkable,” said Josefina Vidal, Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
#EnVideo ??|| Visita de trabajo del Presidente de #México, Andrés Manuel López Obrador a #Cuba ?????. pic.twitter.com/bYxvR8Ut59
— Cancillería de Cuba (@CubaMINREX) May 8, 2022
“It is time for a new coexistence among all the countries of America, because the model imposed more than two centuries ago is exhausted, it has no future or way out and it no longer benefits anyone,” said the Mexican leader.
The Mexican president considered that a new political and economic vision is required and reaffirmed his proposal for an inclusive vision similar to the European Union, “but attached to our history, reality and identities,” he expressed.
“In that spirit, the replacement of the OAS by a truly autonomous body, not a lackey of anyone, but a mediator, at the request and acceptance of the parties in conflict, in matters of human rights and democracy, should not be ruled out.”
He emphasized that the integration of a treaty for economic and commercial development with respect for sovereignties is in everyone’s interest, which would mean the most effective and responsible way out in the face of strong competition that could increase and inevitably lead to the decline of all the Americas.
He explained to President Díaz-Canel that he will continue to speak out for the lifting of the blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba to begin the reestablishment of relations of cooperation and friendship between both peoples.
“I will never participate with coup plotters who conspire against the ideals of equality and universal brotherhood. Retrogression is decadence and desolation, it is a matter of power and not of humanity. This town will once again demonstrate that reason is more powerful than force,” said the Mexican leader. In his message, the president of Mexico extolled the relations of authentic brotherhood that have united both nations since ancient times.
“I have thanked President López Obrador for his firm position of rejecting the genocidal blockade imposed by the United States government on our country in the commercial, economic and financial spheres, and also the intensification of the blockade at the present time,” said President Díaz-Canel.
He reaffirmed the historical and intimate ties between both nations, which on this occasion materialized in a joint declaration that consolidates a new stage in the bilateral relationship.
Díaz-Canel recognized the commitment to the proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace, established in the CELAC summit that took place in Havana.
He added that both nations signed a cooperation agreement on health and issues on the bilateral and regional agendas were addressed. Finally, he declared himself in favor of the profound change that hemispheric relations require.
Mexico and Cuba signed a joint declaration that consolidates a new stage in the bilateral relationship and a cooperation agreement on health. The integration expressed in the treaty calls for economic and commercial development with respect to sovereignties convenient for all.
“I will insist that no country of the continent be excluded from the Summit of the Americas; let no one exclude anyone. For this reason, I will insist with President Biden that no country in the Americas be excluded from next month’s summit, to be held in Los Angeles, California. And that the authorities of each country freely decide whether or not to attend said meeting, but that no one excludes anyone,” expressed President López Obrador.
Soledad Quartucci | Latina Republic
Dr. Soledad Quartucci is the founder and CEO of Latina Republic, a 501(C)3 California-based nonprofit organization. Latina Republic is committed to improving the diversity and professional development of storytellers in the media industry as representation matters and affects the stories we tell. Latina Republic makes space for and empowers unheard voices and trains the next generation of leaders in the U.S.
