The member of the Political Bureau and Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, arrived in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas this Monday afternoon to participate in the First Regional Meeting of Caribbean Heads of Government, a preparatory event for the upcoming United Nations Conference on Climate change

“We ratify the decision to spare no effort in the fight against climate change and for the development of our countries;

as well as the will to support all the Caribbean nations in this matter, and in any other that is required”.

This was stated on Tuesday by the member of the Political Bureau and Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, speaking at the high-level dialogue of the First Regional Meeting of Caribbean Heads of Government

, an appointment that will last until the 18th and will serve as preparation of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27).

From the Nassau Convention Center, where the event is taking place, Marrero Cruz also reiterated

"the conviction that a better world is possible if all developing countries, with firmness and their own criteria, move forward in solving our problems ”.

In his speech, he thanked the declarations of support from the Caribbean Community and several States in the region, in the face of the large-scale fire at the Matanzas Supertanker Base, and highlighted, above all, the solidarity of Venezuela and Mexico.

The current climate crisis, asserted Marrero Cruz, "demands more ambitious commitments on the part of all the States, first of all, the developed ones. It is essential to put an end to the irrationality of the patterns of production and consumption of capitalism."

Regarding Cuba, it reported that

in September 2020 it presented an update of the Nationally Determined Contribution, with higher commitments until 2030, including an increase of up to 24% in the generation of electricity from the use of renewable energies, and the increase of forest cover by 33%. 

"Despite the serious limitations derived from the blockade, intensified to extreme levels, Cuba has made progress," recognized the Head of Government, although the achievement of these goals and other more ambitious ones also depends on the availability of the necessary resources to support national efforts.

In this context, he said, we have begun to explore the potential of the carbon market, while stating that this is an issue in which we should strengthen regional capacities.

Later, in a second intervention, focused specifically on issues of adaptation to climate change, the Prime Minister assured that it is a priority, a matter of survival, particularly for small island developing nations.

Before the audience, he explained the particularities of the Life Task, the Cuban State Plan to confront climate change, and insisted on the need to advance in concrete actions, "because what we do not do today we can regret tomorrow, and we are talking about the future." of our nations and saving lives.

The integration and the search for common positions among all the Caribbean countries had already been called by the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, Philip Davis, during the opening ceremony.

Development, he stated, “requires collective action.

Together we are stronger."

Cuba, the island of solidarity

In the context of the regional conclave, the Cuban Head of Government held fraternal meetings with the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit;

the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley;

as well as with the head of Bahamian Education, Glenys Hanna-Martin.

Solidarity, condemnation of the blockade, gratitude for each show of support in the face of the Matanzas incident, how much unites us to the Caribbean and the enduring legacy of the Commander in Chief was discussed in each of the exchanges.

Roosevelt Skerrit, who is also Minister of Finance, Resilience, Economic Affairs, and other portfolios, reiterated his country's "unwavering commitment" to Cuba: "We are friends and we are at your service in any aspect that we can contribute."

For his part, Marrero Cruz expressed his willingness to continue consolidating bilateral relations and expanding the agreements signed in terms of cooperation.

We have to be more united now than ever, integrate and support each other, he asserted.

If we have learned anything, reflected the Cuban Prime Minister, it is that “against the firmness and resistance of a people there are no weapons that can.

And when that is assured, one is convinced that victory is possible”.

We cannot give in, agreed Roosevelt Skerrit, aware that the destiny of a country can only be decided by the majority of its children.

Near the end of the first day, Marrero Cruz spoke with the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, a recent arrival at the event, who considered it a pleasure that this was the beginning of her agenda.

In the year in which the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries is celebrated, Mottley highlighted cooperation, brotherhood, high political dialogue, and expressed his interest in strengthening ties in all areas that can contribute to the improvement of the economies of Cuba and Barbados.

"I believe in deep friendship," the Prime Minister emphasized, while highlighting the work of Cuban doctors in the fight against COVID-19, and how much they have helped their people.

Another emotional meeting was held with the Minister of Education of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, Glenys Hanna-Martin, whose words were always on the path of recognition and admiration for Cuba.

He inquired about the structure of the educational system of the Greater Antilles, praised the work of collaborators on Bahamian soil and placed special emphasis on the role of Cuban women in the country's transformations.

In the Caribbean, the Prime Minister replied, there has always been a common denominator: support and respect for Cuba.

History, he added, has shown what we can do together, especially in terms of cooperation.

There was also an exchange on Education and the challenges facing the sector, and there was consensus on the need to defend everything that identifies and defines us as a nation.

A country, summed up the Head of Government, has to ponder the teaching of its History, its culture, because the great powers want citizens to forget their roots and that is what must be preserved.