Colombian President Gustavo Petro reiterated his rejection of the possibility of armed aggression against Cuba on Tuesday during a speech delivered at the National University’s Bogotá campus.
The president, who visited the university to inaugurate Building A of the Faculty of Arts, also spoke about the island’s scientific and cultural capabilities, stating that it needs recognition and support for its groundbreaking achievements.
“If there is an artistic and cultural vanguard in Latin America, it is Cuba. If we look at the COVID-19 pandemic that we all suffered through, the only society in Latin America and the Caribbean that was able to develop a vaccine when it was needed (…) that saved countless lives, starting with Cuban lives, was Cuba.”
In his address, the head of state also affirmed: “If a society, in the midst of the global crisis we experienced, was able to develop an effective vaccine with the necessary speed, then that society, instead of being invaded and bombarded, should be applauded and supported.”
The facility inaugurated by Petro, which will benefit more than 3,200 students, covers 12,095 square meters, of which 7,958 correspond to the built area and 4,137 to exterior spaces and surrounding areas, as previously reported by the Presidency.
It includes classrooms, workshops, specialized laboratories, an auditorium, creative spaces, independent study areas, student services, and administrative offices.
During his speech, the president also highlighted the expansion of public universities, which will add 400,000 new places this semester, raising higher education coverage from 54.9 percent in 2022 to 59.7 percent in 2026.
He emphasized that during his administration, the National University received half a trillion pesos (more than US$134 million at the current exchange rate) for infrastructure, not counting the resources allocated through the tuition-free policy, which currently covers more than 92 percent of undergraduate tuition and benefits more than 43,000 students.
This measure is complemented by the amendment to Law 30, which guarantees that tuition-free funding is permanent and cannot be reversed.
Petro stated in his address that only “knowledge is what saves us,” and that it is what will make nations great. “Knowledge plus computing power; this is what we have been working on,” he concluded.
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
