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Brussels, July 17 (RHC) -- Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, on Monday fulfilled an intense agenda in Brussels in the context of two summits that are held in parallel, spaces in which he advocated for a new and fairer international order.
After an emotional act of support for the island the day before, with the participation of Belgian solidarity and Cuban residents, the head of state began Monday with a meeting with the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves.
The leaders spoke in the context of the beginning of the III Summit of the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), a bloc in which Gonsalves holds the pro tempore presidency.
Close ties unite the island states, based on long-standing cooperation agreements.
Díaz-Canel also spoke today with the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, a meeting in which they highlighted the importance to the implementation of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and Cuba, signed in 2016.
In his Twitter account, the Cuban leader assured that the parties expressed the will to continue boosting economic, trade and cooperation ties.
The busy agenda continued with the participation of the president in a high-level meeting of the EU and the Caribbean, before the start of the III Bi-regional Summit.
"The history of the Caribbean countries represented here is marked by centuries of colonialism, slavery and plunder and by the current unjust international economic order. Acknowledging that reality will facilitate the understanding of who we are and what our aspirations are," he said.
According to Díaz-Canel, the forum represented an opportunity to advance in the high-level political dialogue, which should be translated into concrete actions for the benefit of our peoples.
Late in the afternoon, the dignitary's presence at the People's Summit, an event of social movements and progressive forces of Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe, which is taking place in parallel to the 3rd EU-Celac Summit, was awaited.
The arrival of the President at one of the auditoriums of the Free University of Brussels was met with a warm welcome with slogans of support for the largest of the Antilles and condemnation of the blockade imposed by the United States.
In that space of militancy in favor of just causes, Díaz-Canel recalled the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, and defended the right of the Caribbean country to follow its own path.
We express the conviction that we will not lower our arms o r get down on our knees to ask for forgiveness for defending the right to be different, he stressed in the political-cultural festival that closed the first day of the Peoples' Summit. (Source: Prensa Latina).
