Saint john, Antigua and Barbuda.— Member of the Political Bureau and Vice President of the Republic of Cuba, Salvador Valdés Mesa, arrived on Sunday 26 in this city, at the head of the delegation of the largest of the Antilles that will participate, between May 27 and 30, in the 4th Conference of Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
He will also pay an official visit to that country, in the context of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations; he will meet with Prime Minister Gaston Browne; will be received by Sir Rodnehy Williams, Governor General of the island; and will hold talks with Cuban collaborators and friends of solidarity.
Under the theme: Charting a course towards resilient prosperity, the Conference will discuss the current multidimensional crisis that not only limits the right to development of small island states, but also threatens their very existence.
SIDS face the combined socio-economic impact of Covid-19, low growth rates, high levels of debts, inflation, food and energy crises, declining Official Development Assistance, and the aggravated impacts of climate change and natural disasters.
For Cuba, the main challenge for the implementation of the Samoa Trajectory, one of the documents governing the SIDS group, is the sustained application and intensification of the U.S. economic blockade against the island and the arbitrary inclusion in the list of alleged State sponsors of terrorism.
The largest of the Antilles, which in spite of its limitations has actively cooperated with the rest of the SIDS, considers it imperative to undertake actions that allow greater access to financing under favorable conditions and technical cooperation.
