00:00We go live to Colombia. At this time, the foreign minister of Cuba, Bruno Rodriguez, is offering statements. We're listening
00:11to his statements at the High-Level Forum of Salac, Africa.
00:16Mr. Gustavo Petro, Mrs. Vice-President Francia Marquez, President Varisti, and Gishimiye, Your Excellencies, we would like to express our
00:31appreciation to Colombia for hosting this historical Salac Africa Forum.
00:37Our delegation has come to this meeting convinced that it will open up a new path towards genuine cooperation between
00:45Salac and the African Union.
00:48We want to thank President Lula for his speech and leadership.
00:55We, the people of Latin America and the Caribbean, share a common history, a past of domination and struggle, and
01:05also a vocation for dignity and freedom.
01:08Today, our nations are faced with systemic challenges that are rooted in structures of inequalities created and perpetrated for centuries.
01:18The suffocating foreign debt is a direct inheritance from colonialism and the policies imposed by international financial institutions controlled by
01:29the United States.
01:30The gaps separating us from developed countries are not natural.
01:35They are the result of deliberate policies of exclusion and independence.
01:40Today, we are witnessing the re-emergence of totally unmasked aggressive imperialist practices or policies that are badly masked behind
01:51modern rhetoric.
01:53The doctrine of peace through strength defended by Washington is a new expression of domination, military interventions and threats, and
02:04the use of force.
02:05If we concert our efforts in the face of such big challenges, we could prevent certain powers from setting themselves
02:14up as arbitrators of their civilization, from continuing to impose the designs on the world.
02:22We have the responsibility to promote the construction of a truly just, democratic, and equitable international order, where there is
02:34an unequivocal respect of the sovereign equality of states, international law, people's self-determination, and genuine cooperation on an equal
02:45footing.
02:46In that endeavor, Cuba fully supports the legitimate claim by our African and Caribbean brothers and sisters for historical reparations.
02:56This event should be central in the agenda of CELAC and the African Union at International Forum.
03:03For more than 60 years, our country has been facing the longest-lasting act of sustained economic aggression in contemporary
03:15history.
03:17Other to this are the arbitrary inclusion of Cuba in the unilateral list of states that allegedly sponsor terrorism, the
03:25threats of aggression,
03:27and the recently signed executive order by President Trump that seeks to impose a total siege on our fuel supplies,
03:35based on the idea that economic deprivation and the consequent humanitarian damages will force our people to renounce their sovereignty
03:45and independence.
03:46We are deeply grateful to the governments of Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, which have maintained their unbreakable solidarity
03:55with Cuba in the face of this injustice, as well as their support, an international forum.
04:05And especially the ones who have been expressed here in this forum, despite the aggressive escalation, our country is firm
04:14in the defense of its sovereignty.
04:17Our doors remain open for cooperation through South-South initiatives in where we can make its contribution.
04:26No smear campaign will be able to wipe out the demonstrated and significant impact that CELAC's cooperation has had in
04:35countries of all the regions for more than six decades.
04:40In the year, in particular, especially in the sense of health, we are all willing to have a serious dialogue
04:49and responsible dialogue with the government of the United States
04:52without an inheritance of the internal affairs and the political systems and the political and social issues that we have.
05:00Now, count Latin America and the Caribbean and the countries of the African Union with the Brotherhood, the Solidarity of
05:11Cuba.
05:11Thank you very much.
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