The president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, affirmed this Wednesday that his government is open to dialogue with the United States, but on equal terms and with respect for the “sovereignty” and “integrity” of the island.
Díaz-Canel expressed himself in this way when receiving at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana some twenty American and Cuban-American businessmen who are participating in the first bilateral trade forum held since 2016, when both countries came together during the so-called “thaw.” .
“We are open to strengthening dialogue and relations with any country in the world and in particular with the United States,” stressed the Cuban president, who made these contacts subject to “respect” for the “sovereignty and integrity” of the island and the rejection of “unilateral positions and strength”.
“If that is respected, there can be that dialogue and closer relations, regardless of the ideological differences that we have”
He also pointed out that “if that is respected, there can be that dialogue and closer relations, regardless of the ideological differences we have.”
Díaz-Canel denounced the 243 measures applied against his country by the administration of former Republican President Donald Trump, in particular the inclusion of Cuba on a list of countries that sponsor terrorism.
In his opinion this is “totally uncertain and irrational”, and he also reproached the current occupant of the White House, Joe Biden, for maintaining many of those sanctions.
The leader affirmed that the embargo produces limitations “in an overwhelming way” and cited among them the refusal of the banks to work with the Island, the cut off of credit possibilities, the inability to export foreign currency abroad and the inability to operate with the Cuban accounts in banks of other countries.
He also stressed that US policy was “cruel” in the times of the covid-19 pandemic by intensifying those measures and maintaining them at the time of the health emergency that Cuba was going through.
In this sense, he argued before the businessmen that Washington “tried by all means to ensure that Cuba could not have access to vaccines and medicines” that it needed at that time, and that they even “denied and blocked the possible purchase of pulmonary ventilators.”
But he stressed that despite everything Cuba “did not stop” and managed to develop its own vaccines, which have allowed it to immunize its population, control the coronavirus and reduce deaths from that cause to “zero.”
Cuba rejected from the beginning, however, the purchase of vaccines abroad and defended its position alleging that national production could be just as effective and, without a doubt, would be cheaper.
Cuba rejected from the beginning, however, the purchase of vaccines abroad and defended its position by alleging that national production could be just as effective and, without a doubt, would be cheaper. In addition, later, the authorities reaffirmed their position by pointing out that the serum obtained through the Covax mechanism reached the countries that did participate by the dropper and boasted of having managed to immunize a huge percentage of their population in much less time than the rest of the countries. countries.
The island, which also manufactured its own ventilators and maintained a firm policy of commitment to national medicine and pharmaceuticals, also received ventilators from different countries, in addition to tons of aid in medical supplies and medicines, from the United States included.
The Cuba-US business forum, which will take place until next Friday in Havana, is the latest example of the improvement that bilateral relations are experiencing in recent months, although without reaching the levels of the so-called “thaw.”
The previous edition of the forum was in 2016 and took place during the visit to Cuba of the then US president, Barack Obama (2009-2017), and as part of the rapprochement promoted by him and former Cuban president Raúl Castro. That stage, however, was put on hold with the arrival at the White House of Donald Trump.
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