CARICOM supports Cuba against the blockade
Havana, February 10 (RHC) The Barbadian ambassador to the Community of Caribbean States (CARICOM), David Comissiong, stated that the US blockade of Cuba is not only harming the development of the island, but also of the entire Caribbean region.
Noting that Cuba and the members of CARICOM developed for years a very friendly, respectful and productive relationship, Comissiong called on Washington to lift the economic, financial and commercial blockade it has applied to Cuba for more than six decades.
Shortly after attending the recent international conference “New Operation Truth” in Havana, organized by Prensa Latina, Comissiong was interviewed in Bridgetown by Teshia Hinds on the popular television program “Mornin' Barbados”, where he referred to the cooperation agreements of Cuba with Barbados and with CARICOM.
We have tried everything, including a private collective letter from our Heads of Government to President Joe Biden, explaining in a very rational and reasonable way why this blockade is anachronistic and why it must disappear, he explained.
Also, we vote every year in the United Nations General Assembly in favor of the resolution that condemns the blockade and, every time we have the opportunity to exchange with American diplomats, in any forum, we insist on it.
We have to redouble our efforts to have these mutually beneficial relations with Cuba and, somehow, find ways around the blockade, he said. We try anyway, because a central principle of Caricom's foreign policy is solidarity with Cuba.
The Barbadian ambassador recalled that each of the independent CARICOM countries has an embassy in Cuba and, likewise, Cuba has an embassy in each of those countries. That's unique. You don't find that type of relationship with any other country, he pointed out.
Comissiong chairs a task force - with an agenda of 10 areas - created by a Barbados-Cuba Cooperation Agreement, after the Cuba-Caricom Summit in 2022, a space in which the Heads of Government meet every three years.
He pointed out that this agreement includes cooperation in education, tourism, health, sports and agriculture and stressed special interest in biotechnology.
During his stay in Cuba, he visited the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, which he described as one of the pioneer institutions in the development of certain cutting-edge medications, such as Heberprot-P for the treatment of diabetic ulcers, a situation that affects many Barbadians.
Comissiong explained, however, that the US blockade affects the registration of this medicine in his country.
That is the type of power we have in the Caribbean. However, much of Cuba's potential is being held back because they have to fight against all these US sanctions, he lamented. (Source: PL)
