Cuban First Deputy Foreign Minister Gerardo Peñalver has reaffirmed the validity of the principles of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) during the Commemorative Meeting for the organization’s 65th anniversary.
The Cuban diplomat, attending as a special envoy of President Miguel Díaz-Canel, conveyed his country’s gratitude to the Ugandan presidency of the Movement and to the Serbian authorities for organizing the meeting, while also expressing Cuba’s “genuine pride” in being a founding member of the NAM.
According to the statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Peñalver emphasized that the Movement’s founding principles remain fully valid in the current international context and that its activism as the voice of the countries of the Global South “is more necessary than ever in the face of today’s colossal challenges.”
The first deputy foreign minister denounced the US administration for intensifying the blockade against Cuba through an “energy embargo that amounts to a naval blockade,” secondary sanctions against third countries, and a persistent threat of direct military aggression.
Peñalver explained that these policies have had painful consequences for the Cuban people, including a waiting list of more than 90,000 patients for surgical procedures, the depletion of essential medicines, and the inability of thousands of containers of food and medical equipment to reach Cuban ports.
“There is no doubt about the genocidal dimension that the policy of economic strangulation against Cuba has acquired,” the diplomat stated, while reaffirming the island’s determination to resist and seek development alternatives through its own efforts in defense of its sovereignty.
Peñalver quoted the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Raúl Castro, to emphasize that “the security and peace of the rich are not those for which we poor countries fight,” and recalled that Cuba aspires to “peace with sovereignty, with independence, with dignity, with justice, with development.”
The deputy minister thanked the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) for its historic condemnation of the blockade, the energy embargo, and the inclusion of Cuba on the unilateral list of state sponsors of terrorism, as well as for recognizing the cooperation that the island maintains with numerous member states of the Movement.
He made special mention of the interventions by the President of Ghana and the Minister of the Presidency of Namibia, who supported Cuba and rejected the blockade during the plenary session.
Peñalver concluded his remarks with words from the historic leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, who warned that “the success and future of the Non-Aligned Movement will depend on not allowing itself to be penetrated, confused, or deceived by imperialist ideology.”
“It is time to reaffirm our anti-imperialist, anti-neocolonialist, and anti-fascist ideals, which are at the heart of the Non-Aligned Movement’s essence and history,” the Cuban diplomat concluded.
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
