Cuban FM addresses the 16th BRICS Summit

Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, member of the Political Bureau and head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minrex by its Spanish acronym), addressed the 16th BRICS Summit being held in Kazan, Russia.

Due to its importance, we transmit in full the words of the Cuban Foreign Minister, who heads the Cuban delegation to the meeting, and which were published by the Minrex website.

His Excellency Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation:

Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Governments:

Distinguished Heads of Delegations and Delegates:

The serious electro-energy contingency and the simultaneous impact of a hurricane in our country have prevented Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez from attending this important Forum, as he had planned.

The country has suffered for 5 days a massive disconnection of the national electro-energy system caused, in the first place, by the lack of fuel and the paralysis of generation plants and by the technological difficulties to reestablish it due to associated breakdowns and its precarious state.

It is a direct consequence of the extreme economic warfare measures implemented by the U.S. government since 2019, specifically designed to prevent fuel supplies, and parts and pieces for technical maintenance and investment, against suppliers, transporters and insurers. In one year alone, the U.S. government penalized 53 vessels and 27 companies.

The deprivation of financial resources and the impediments to our bank transfers due to the blockade and the List of Alleged Sponsor Countries of Terrorism, as well as difficult weather conditions for ship-to-ship navigation and unloading, as is often imposed on us, generated the conditions for the disruption of the supply chain.

The consequences have not been even more serious thanks to the self-sacrifice of the 52,000 electrical workers, engineers and managers; the conscious participation and mobilization of the people in support of the recovery; the understanding and complete tranquility of the citizens and the effective leadership of the Government.

I wish to express my gratitude for the numerous expressions of solidarity and the offers of cooperation that we are so grateful for and need.

For Cuba, it is an extraordinary honor to participate in this Meeting of Leaders of Member States in the expanded format of BRICS, which is successfully taking place in the multicultural and hospitable city of Kazan. On behalf of the Cuban President and people, I would like to thank the President of the Russian Federation for his generous invitation.

Because of their political, economic and demographic importance, the BRICS have emerged as a fundamental actor of growing relevance, authority and leadership in the global geopolitical scenario and a real hope for the countries of the South in their complex path towards the achievement of a more just, democratic, equitable and sustainable international order.

From this platform, we reiterate Cuba's resounding rejection of any attempt to impose what has come to be called a "rules-based" international order, an alternative to International Law, on whose norms and principles international relations are based.

We especially appreciate the Group's contribution to the path towards the urgent and deep reform of the international financial system, which is obsolete, unjust, speculative and exclusionary.

For its part, the New Development Bank of the BRICS is playing an increasingly decisive role as an important alternative for the nations of the South to gain access to financial resources under fairer conditions.

By implementing the broad-based foreign currency reserve mechanism and the establishment of credit lines in local currencies, the BRICS are contributing to the formation of a new, necessary and inclusive international financial architecture.

Its extension to other countries would help mitigate the effects of the current unfair and unbalanced international monetary system and reduce the influence of the U.S. dollar, often used as an instrument of pressure that impacts very negatively on the quality of life of many of our peoples.

Excellencies:

Cuba shares similar points of view to those expressed in the declaration of this 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, as well as those expressed in the Joint Statement of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of June 2024.

We are pleased to see that the BRICS have among their priorities the confrontation of the current world food and energy crisis, with very positive experiences, whose results have been validated in many of its member states, among them, a greater use and generation of renewable energies in development projects, issues of vital importance for all the nations of the South.

My country maintains historic relations with all BRICS member countries, as well as with the nations invited to this important meeting, with which it has shared positions and proposals in numerous events organized by the Group.

We have successfully joined many of the initiatives promoted by member countries of the Group, such as the Belt and Road and the Global Development Initiative proposed by China; and the Eurasian Economic Union, which we have joined as an Observer.

Cuba's presence here today in Kazan embodies our will to deepen this path, in the search not only for cooperation and mutual benefits, but also to join, as has been formally requested of the Russian Federation in its capacity as Pro Tempore President of the Group, as a “Partner Country”, for which we hope to count on your support.

We also come to share and make available to you our experiences and results in diverse areas such as the biomedical-pharmaceutical industry, health, education, science and innovation.

Our country has an important infrastructure and highly qualified human resources that favor the development of cooperation in various productive and investment sectors, supported by policies and regulations to make them increasingly favorable.

Considered the Key to the Gulf, due to its strategic position in the Caribbean Sea, Cuba can facilitate the access of BRICS countries to important markets in Latin America and the Caribbean and establish strategic partnerships for the benefit of our countries.

Excellencies:

For more than 60 years, Cuba has had to face a cruel economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by successive US governments, further tightened in an extreme, unprecedented and cruel manner, since 2019, even during the COVID pandemic, and aggravated by the infamous and unfounded inclusion of our country in the spurious list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism, which impact very negatively on the quality of life of all Cubans and cause severe humanitarian damage, shortages and suffering.

The dignified, victorious and creative resistance of the Cuban people has received the encouragement and support of many of the countries gathered in this room, and the backing of the international community, a gesture for which we are deeply grateful.

Excellencies:

Like the BRICS, Cuba shares the deep concern and condemnation of the genocide in Palestine and the escalation in the Middle East, as a result of the aggressiveness and impunity with which the State of Israel acts, with the military, logistical, financial and political backing of the U.S. government.

In order to achieve peace in the Middle East, it is urgent to reach a comprehensive, lasting and just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which contemplates the creation of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital and guarantees for the return of refugees. Palestine's immediate accession as a full member of the UN must also take place.

Excellencies:

Cuba also reiterates its support for the joint proposal presented by China and Brazil to reach a serious, constructive, realistic and peaceful diplomatic solution to the current conflict in Ukraine, with strict adherence to International Law and with guarantees of security and sovereignty for all parties involved. We oppose the conduct of NATO, dragged by the U.S. government into direct involvement in the conflict that threatens international peace and security, with devastating consequences.

The proliferation of unilateral coercive measures against Russia and the supply of arms and funds to fuel the war must cease.

Likewise, Sandinista Nicaragua and President Comandante Daniel Ortega should receive the solidarity support of Cuba against interference in their internal affairs.

Excellencies:

I wish to express full and deep solidarity in the face of unilateral coercive campaigns and measures with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the leadership of Constitutional President Nicolas Maduro Moros.
I am pleased to reiterate to the Russian Federation our best wishes for success during this Summit and its attentive hospitality.

Thank you very much.