Cuba is a founding member of the Ibero-American Conference, participated since the I Summit in Guadalajara, in 1991, and in this sense welcomes with satisfaction that the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit will take place in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on March 24 and 25, 2023 , under the slogan Together for a fair and sustainable Ibero-America.

Photo: File/Presidency

Inclusive cooperation is a cardinal concept for these times, especially if you want to make progress in the architecture of a fairer, more humane world.

In this spirit, the dialogue held with Yailín Castro Loredo, an official of the General Directorate of Multilateral Affairs and International Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minrex), took place.

The conversation took place regarding the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, which will take place on March 24 and 25, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, under the slogan "Together for a just and sustainable Ibero-America ”.

—How important is it that the Greater Antilles is once again in person at this XXVIII Summit?

—Cuba is a founding member of the Ibero-American Conference, it has participated since the I Summit in Guadalajara, in 1991, and in this sense welcomes with satisfaction that the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit will take place in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on March 24 and 25, 2023, under the slogan "Together for a fair and sustainable Ibero-America".

“Our country attaches great importance to this forum, as the Conference constitutes an already consolidated space for cooperation, with activities backed by more than thirty years of work.

Our country participates very actively in some of the programs, initiatives and projects attached to Ibero-American cooperation, which have favored and will continue to favor the development of the capacities of the member states, and in particular of the developing countries.

“We attach great importance to being present.

We hope that once again the Ibero-American Conference will pronounce itself, make a call, as it has done historically, to denounce the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the Government of the United States against Cuba;

and we also hope for the valuable support of the forum to demand the extinction of Cuba in the unfair list of state sponsors of terrorism”.

Yailín Castro Loredo, official of the General Directorate of Multilateral Affairs and International Law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minrex) Photo: Alejandro Azcuy/Presidency

— What could be Cuba's contribution to the Santo Domingo meeting, once it has assumed the Pro Tempore Presidency of the Group of 77 plus China (G77+China)?

—Cuba holds, since 2023, the Pro Tempore Presidency of the Group of 77 plus China.

This is a Group that has a composition of 134 nations from the South, which represent eighty percent of the world population.

We cannot, of course, separate our participation as a country from the high responsibility we have as president of the G77+China.

“We will work to favor the promotion of inclusive cooperation, to strengthen the development capacities of the countries of the south.

And without a doubt, our country will work, together with the Dominican presidency, so that the Summit is a space that allows effective progress in a fair, inclusive and sustainable Ibero-America.

"Since our presidency of the G77+China, we will be contributing as much as possible to that purpose, focused on achieving greater and better cooperation for all."

—After COVID-19, the planet has never been the same.

This is a reality that will impact everything that is discussed at the Ibero-American Summit.

What new challenges does the pandemic impose, then?

—The XXVIII Ibero-American Summit will take place in a complex international context, which is marked by the unjust and undemocratic order that prevails, which is reflected in multi-systemic crises whose damages go to the health, food, climate, energy, financial and commercial spheres .

Without a doubt we have to unite to be able to face the common challenges that affect us.

“We live in a “post-pandemic” world, now more unfair, more unequal, more selfish;

where, while hunger and poverty increase, large resources are allocated to the arms industry;

and in this regard, the Summit faces the challenge of strengthening all cooperation programs, in order to achieve true inclusive cooperation that allows access to financial transfers, technologies, and resources that nations need, in particular developing countries, to effectively move towards sustainable development.

— What could be Cuba's contribution to this XXVIII Ibero-American Summit?

—The XXVIII Summit culminates a two-year work cycle, under the presidency of the Dominican Republic, in which a set of initiatives, proposals, issues of common interest to the countries have been discussed, within the framework of different sectoral events of the Ibero-American Conference, where Cuba has played an active role, presenting numerous proposals that allow bringing all the documents that will be approved at the Summit closer to the interests of the southern nations.

“We have worked and will continue to work so that the final documents of the Ibero-American Summit recognize the need to strengthen cooperation to mitigate and better adapt to the effects of climate change;

to achieve digital transformation in order to reduce the digital gaps that developing countries face;

and to increase national capacities with which to guarantee food security and sovereignty”.

Our Commander in Chief participated in the I Summit of Guadalajara, in 1991, and participated uninterruptedly, for a decade, in this space of the Ibero-American Summits.

He always proposed to share values ​​that favored the development of all nations.

Photo: archive/Presidency

—By tradition, the idea of ​​integration has been defended in successive summits.

Fidel and Chávez were two giants of that cause.

Their presence in this type of forum is unforgettable.

What to say about their legacies?

—Our Commander in Chief participated in the I Summit of Guadalajara, in 1991, and participated uninterruptedly, for a decade, in this space of the Ibero-American Summits.

He always proposed to share values ​​that favored the development of all nations.

“Our country will always keep in mind the legacies, both of Fidel and Chávez;

and within the framework of the Ibero-American Conferences and the spaces where we can highlight the important elements that prevail, that are valid, we will continue to advocate for the end of all the conditions that generate the uneven development of our countries, which have been subjected to centuries of looting and exploitation.

And another commitment will be to work for an end to extra-territorial laws and illegal blockades imposed against our nations, as well as all attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of states.

“Our country will continue to advocate for a new international order, one that is more inclusive, that is democratic, that stops being so unfair.

In addition, we will continue working for a reform of the international financial architecture system, and to eliminate once and for all the issue of foreign debt, which has been paid so many times in history by our developing countries”.

“Cuba will keep this legacy in force, and from its status as a developing nation, and as President of the G77+China, it will contribute as much as possible to the purpose of the success of the Summit to achieve a more inclusive cooperation, for the benefit of the nations of the Ibero-American Conference, and in particular of the developing countries”.

—The concept of inclusive cooperation seems to be cardinal.

What is your opinion about it?

—As I already mentioned, the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit has as its motto "Together for a fair and sustainable Ibero-America", but from Cuba's perspective, how are we going to achieve this fair and sustainable Ibero-America if we do not have inclusive cooperation projects that benefit everyone? , where developed nations really feel the moral obligation to pay taxes with more resources, to facilitate access to technologies, to make financial transfers to underdeveloped countries possible?

"In this sense, we believe that in order to move towards a fair and sustainable Ibero-America, we must first achieve an inclusive Ibero-America through the strengthening of cooperation projects."

Summit Count

  • The I Summit took place in the Mexican city of Guadalajara, in July 1991. That beginning of the path was the search for historical and cultural confluences to assume common challenges.

  • Madrid, the capital of Spain, would host the second Ibero-American meeting of Heads of State and Government.

    It would be time to endorse the commitments made in the founding forum.

    The Summit, in its third edition, would return to Latin America, to Salvador de Bahía, in Brazil.

    On such an occasion the issue of development would occupy most of the debates.

  • The fourth Summit took place in the city of Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.

    It was in that forum where special attention was paid to the issue of development linked to equity.

    Then the V Ibero-American Summit —whose headquarters was the Argentine tourist town of San Carlos de Bariloche— led the main debates on issues related to education as a vital premise for the development of society.

  • The following Ibero-American Summits would be held in Santiago and Viña del Mar in Chile (in 1996);

    in the Venezuelan territory of Isla Margarita (1997);

    and in the Portuguese city of Porto (1998).

    Regional integration and cooperation, as well as globalization, were the predominant themes.

  • Havana would host the IX Summit, in November 1999. The main theme of the meeting was "Ibero-America and the international financial situation in a globalized economy."

    The meeting would ratify its energetic rejection of the unilateral and extraterritorial application of national laws or measures that violate International Law and try to impose themselves in third countries, their own laws and regulations.

  • Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz would preside over that IX Summit.

    And at the opening moment he said: "The Ibero-American Summits have acquired enormous importance."

    He also said: “They (the Summits) have been a source of inspiration, impulse or support for many integrationist activities;

    thousands of senior officials and specialists from our countries have come into contact and strengthened relations;

    we political leaders know each other better and understand more deeply the complex problems of our respective countries;

    We do not need permits or calls from others to meet as a family and without the exclusion of anyone”.

  • “United for Children and Adolescents, Basis of Justice and Equity in the New Millennium”.

    That was the theme that motivated the reflections of the leaders during the X Summit held in Panama City.

    Such an appointment, the first of the new millennium, went down in history due to the unforgettable episode of the denunciation, made by Cuba, of the actions of sabotage programs against Fidel, which they tried to perpetrate in the university Auditorium, the main venue of the meeting.

  • The successive Ibero-American summits took place in: Peru (2001);

    Dominican Republic (2002);

    Bolivia (2003);

    Costa Rica (2004);

    Spain (2005);

    Uruguay (2006);

    Santiago de Chile (2007);

    El Salvador (2008);

    Portugal (2009);

    Argentina (2010);

    Paraguay (2011);

    Spain (2012);

    Panama (2013);

    Mexico (2014);

    Colombia (2016);

    Guatemala (2018);

    and Andorra (2021, in semi-face-to-face format).

(Taken from Presidency)

 In video, participation of Cuba


#Cuba, in its capacity as president of the G-77+China, is firmly committed to promoting more and better international cooperation, which the South needs so much.

The XXVIII Ibero-American Summit is an opportunity to advance in this effort, through the promotion of inclusive and sustainable cooperation.

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— Bruno Rodríguez P (@BrunoRguezP) March 23, 2023