Cuba commemorates 19th anniversary of ALBA-TCP

The 19th anniversary of the creation of the Bolivarian Alternative for the People of Our America - Peoples' Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP) was commemorated on Thursday at the Fidel Castro Ruz Center in Havana.

Josefina Vidal Ferreiro, deputy minister of foreign affairs, said that since 2004, at the proposal of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz and Commander of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias, a hope arose that allowed joining efforts to multiply solidarity in the face of the selfishness prevailing in the world.

Vidal Ferreiro pointed out that throughout almost two decades the organization has strengthened its position as a space in favor of peace and cooperation in the search for solutions to chronic problems and social demands of its member countries.

The programs developed by this integration mechanism include "Operation Miracle" and the literacy campaign "Yes, I can", in the areas of public health and education, respectively.

The deputy foreign minister acknowledged the capacity of ALBA-TCP to demonstrate the existence of possibilities, materialized in concrete results of popular benefit, in spite of limited resources.

She stressed that thanks to the contributions of its 10 member countries, the Alliance has become a reference for the South in the defense of just causes such as the denunciation of the genocide in Palestine, the condemnation of imperialist aggressions against Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba, the denunciation of unilateral coercive measures and the inclusion of Cuba in the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

The event was presided over by Rogelio Polanco Fuentes, member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and head of the ideological department; Emilio Lozada García, head of the international relations department of the PCC Central Committee; Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla,
foreign minister; Fernando Gonzalez Llort, president of the Cuban Friendship Institute, and officials of the Party, the government and the diplomatic body of the ALBA-TCP member countries.

On December 14, 2004, the Bolivarian Alternative for the People of Our America was founded, which a year later would give rise to ALBA-TCP, as an unprecedented platform for Latin American and Caribbean integration with emphasis on the fight against poverty and social exclusion.