"The recent offers of support and assistance to Cuba received from Russia and China in the current context are genuine expressions of solidarity that the Cuban people will never forget." This was the sentiment expressed by Carlos Miguel Pereira Hernández, Director General of Bilateral Affairs at the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minrex), at the First Joint Seminar dedicated to the 77th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations and the 30th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Strategic Partnership for Coordination between Russia and China, which took place this Wednesday in Havana.
The event, the Cuban diplomat affirmed, reaffirms the strategic value of cooperation and mutual support between the two sister nations of the Greater Antilles.
"Cuba will remain steadfast in defending its sovereignty and its Revolution, and we will act inspired by the example of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, who on this day victoriously reaches his 95th birthday," he stated.
Pereira Hernández underscored the strength of the political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation between Russia and China, nations that "have advocated supporting Cuba in its national development strategy based on respect and shared benefit," he emphasized.
Furthermore, he described the strategic partnership of coordination between Russia and China as an alternative model of integration and a positive example of sovereignty and resistance against Western hegemony. He also acknowledged the leadership of Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in strengthening these ties.
For his part, Viktor Koronelli, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Cuba, referred to the more than 300 intergovernmental treaties and agreements signed with China as part of the new era of comprehensive partnership and strategic interaction between Moscow and Beijing. In particular, he said, the two countries are strengthening coordination in multilateral forums such as the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and the BRICS.
In his remarks, the Russian ambassador emphasized that the tightening of the U.S. blockade against Cuba is a "criminal policy that violates all norms of international law." He recalled that both Russia and China have repeatedly expressed their support for the sovereignty of Cuba and their rejection of foreign interference and threats of the use of force.
In this regard, Hua Xin, ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Cuba, stressed that in the face of constant threats from the United States, the Cuban Party, Government, and people "have united as one, firmly safeguarding sovereignty and national security, which has earned them the respect of the international community."
The Chinese ambassador explained three points that have strengthened the development of China-Russia relations: the high-level design for bilateral relations, pragmatic cooperation as the driving force for the stable development of ties, and the connection between the two peoples, which he described as the foundation of the two countries' generational friendship.
Both ambassadors extended their congratulations to Army General Raúl Castro Ruz on his 95th birthday.
In presentations by other participants, the strategic cooperation among the three nations was analyzed; China and Latin America and the Community of Shared Future; the four global initiatives presented by President Xi Jinping; and China, Russia, and Cuba as the cornerstones of a sovereign and diverse geopolitics in the construction of a multipolar order.
The seminar, jointly convened by the Russian and Chinese embassies in Cuba, was attended by Gerardo Peñalver Portal, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs; Fernando González Llort, Hero of the Republic of Cuba and President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP); and Rogelio Sierra Díaz, Rector of the University of International Relations, as well as diplomats and academics.
