
The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, thanked, on Tuesday night, the diplomatic corps accredited to Cuba, for all the support provided, and recognized them "for the work they do representing their governments and their peoples in our country".
As he does every year, the Head of State received at the Palace of the Revolution - headquarters of the Presidency of the Republic - more than a hundred diplomats working on the Island, a moment that, he said, "is a space for dialogue, for exchange, and that contributes to strengthening relations with each of the countries.
"All of you have witnessed that 2024 was a very difficult year for Cubans". In that year, he recalled, the outgoing administration of the U.S. government continued with its policy of maximum pressure against our people; the screws of the blockade were tightened further, causing enormous shortages, to which were added the effects of hurricanes, other natural events, and the annoying blackouts.
Díaz-Canel recalled how that administration, a few days before leaving power, removed Cuba from the list of countries that allegedly sponsor terrorism, and the incoming administration wasted no time in including us again, which shows, he considered, that there was no reason to keep Cuba on this list. That decision explains very clearly how incoherent the U.S. policy is, and the motivation of political pressure behind those decisions, he stressed.
"But we Cubans do not give up, we Cubans do not give up our yearnings to continue building a more prosperous society, within the precepts of socialist construction," he said.
Our resistance has a component that has a lot to do with most of you, the Head of State expressed to the ambassadors, "which is the support, solidarity and all the initiatives in favor of Cuba that you, your governments and your peoples promote towards us".
He particularly mentioned "the support we always receive when you vote in favor of the Cuban Resolution against the Blockade in the United Nations General Assembly". For all this support, for all this understanding and for all this sensitivity towards Cuba's problems, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts, he said.
The year 2025 also presents us with many challenges, the dignitary commented, but we have an economic strategy to overcome adversities. We are promoting, he explained, important investments so that our National Electric System will increasingly have more penetration of renewable energy sources, and be less dependent on the use of fossil fuels.
He commented that, in addition, "we are promoting, through the participation of the population in all areas of political, economic and social life, the strengthening of the unity of our people; and we are also developing a group of social programs to mitigate the effect of some undesirable inequalities that, at the level of society, we are experiencing in such complicated times as these".
In times like these, the President remarked, "we also believe that we can continue to increase collaboration, and together we can find new areas, new fields, in which we can share projects of mutual benefit".
Díaz-Canel, finally, ratified to the ambassadors accredited to the Island the convictions of the Cuban Revolution's foreign policy: "We defend multilateralism, mutual respect, friendship and solidarity among peoples and governments, non-interference in the internal affairs of any country, and respect for self-determination.
We struggle and share ideals, together with many of you, in search of a better world, he stressed; a more democratic, more inclusive, more just world, with more harmony with our planet, and where there are no wars, where peace prevails, where there are no exclusions, where there are no blockades, nor coercive measures. "I am sure that we can achieve it; if we work together, together we can achieve it."
This meeting, on the occasion of the new year, was attended by members of the Political Bureau, Esteban Lazo Hernández, president of the National Assembly of People's Power; Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz; and Vice President Salvador Valdés Mesa; also participating were Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, directors of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other agencies.
According to data published in 2023 by the Center for International Policy Research, Cuba maintains diplomatic and consular relations with 195 States; 114 foreign diplomatic missions and eight representations of international organizations are based in Cuban territory. The figures indicate that it is a nation with broad participation in international relations.