President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez thanked yesterday the support that Cuba has historically had from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), when receiving, at the Palace of the Revolution, Michelle Marie Muschett Zimmermann, UN undersecretary general and director general for Latin America and the Caribbean of that important global network, present in some 170 countries and territories.
The Head of State recalled that UNDP participates in an important group of national programs, among them those related to food and nutrition education. He pointed out that, in difficult times such as floods or hurricanes, we have received assistance from the Program.
He referred to the Conference on Financing for Development that will take place in Havana, today and tomorrow, among international financial institutions, cooperation actors and governmental organizations. He spoke of the urgency of looking for mechanisms that will break the gap between the North and the South, between rich and poor, which is so important, he said.
Díaz-Canel expressed his satisfaction with the UNDP's work in Cuba; it has been very active and has had the capacity to reach very complicated places in our country, to know how they work and to help, he said.
Michelle Marie referred to the fact that UNDP has a very great responsibility with Cuba, and this is possible thanks to the Government's trust in us. In the end, she said, that is our mandate, but it can only be fulfilled when there is trust, and the relationship with the Government of Cuba has been going on for more than 50 years. We have been allies at the country level, but also in the most complex discussions at the multilateral level.
The UNDP Director General for Latin America and the Caribbean considered that Cuba is one of the countries with the greatest clarity regarding its vision of development, its priorities in terms of public policies, but that it faces challenges that go beyond global challenges, referring to the blockade suffered by the island.
Financing for development, he stressed, is a problem in developing countries, and in the Cuban context, moreover, it has a not minor aggravating factor. For us it is an honor to be able to put our capabilities at the Conference we will be holding in Havana, she said.
According to press reports, the Conference on Financing for Development is convened by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, the Central Bank of Cuba and the United Nations Development Program, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cuba.
Among its objectives is to make visible the experiences and good global practices of channeling external financing for development, from regional and subregional development banks, as well as to discuss the challenges and opportunities for Cuba in accessing international financing for areas such as energy transition, production of medicines, and environmental conservation.
Michelle Marie Muschett Zimmermann was in the Cuban capital in September last year to participate in the G-77 and China Summit, which was chaired by the Caribbean nation.
UNDP works in all Cuban provinces, with more than 35 projects on key issues for the development agenda.
