CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

Statement by Ambassador Pedro Núñez Mosquera, Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations, during the 16th Session of the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation

(4 February 2010. New york)

Mr. Chairman,

H.E. Mr. Muburi-Muita, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Kenya to United Nations, we congratulate you on your election to preside over this 16th session of the High-Level Committee on South-South Cooperation, as well as the members of the Bureau. We likewise congratulate H.E. Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar, for his leadership in the last two years.

We associate ourselves with the statement by the G-77 and China.

Our delegation wishes to reaffirm its commitment to the principles of South-South cooperation, which, we believe, are essential to advance projects and initiatives among developing countries, this exchange being based on mutual respect, selfless assistance, complementarity, and solidarity as examples of possible realities among our countries.

In our opinion, this diversity that makes us different as to economic, social, cultural, geographical, and natural resources structures, also makes us stronger, thus enabling the economic complementation, the exchange of ideas, experiences, knowledge, and practical results; taking actions with our own efforts and mobilizing the resources existing in the South, on the road to development.

Mr. Chairman,

In times when the human race faces new challenges, the planet prepares to begin another year by increasing its poverty rate.

The year 2009 concluded with an increase of over 250 million poor people with respect to the end of last year; 50 million unemployed were added to the existing number, while 167 million new hungry people made the number reach the astronomical total of 1020 million people.

 

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the volume of regional exports is expected to drop 11 percentage points, the worst setback in 72 years; while imports will be reduced by 14 percent, the worst setback in 27 years.

The most complex global crisis in the history of capitalism, evident not only in the financial field but also in the energy, environmental, food, and social sectors, does not reflect the classic recovery patterns of the capitalist economic crisis, since its recovery signs become unsteady and diffuse.

This scenario proves for certain the failure of the neoliberal model and leads us to recognize the need for a new paradigm of economic development as a lasting and sustainable solution.

In this regard, we would like to reiterate what the Commander in Chief, Fidel Castro Ruz, expressed in the reflections entitled “The World half a century later”, published in the Granma newspaper on 4 January 2010, and I quote: “If the industrialized nations ever honored their promise to give the developing countries 0.7% of their GDP –something they never did but for few exceptions—the figure would exceed 250 billion dollars each year”, unquote.

And that is what this is about, the lack of political will for developing countries to solve the increasingly overwhelming economic situation.

Therefore, South-South cooperation comes before us as an actual possibility to develop projects, initiatives, and programs, even with our limited resources, bearing in mind South-South cooperation is not a replacement but a complement of the North-South cooperation.

Mr. Chairman,

Cuba, a small country without considerable natural resources, which has suffered the consequences of an unjust economic, commercial, and financial blockade for over half a century, has been able to develop thousands of professionals who render their services today in several countries not only from our continent, but from all over the world.

This way, we have implemented numerous South-South cooperation programs in 157 countries from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, without exclusions or conditions.

In the current academic year, 30,478 scholarship holders from 125 countries are being trained as technicians and professionals. The 77.9% of them are studying medicine.

According to the Report presented by Cuba in the recently concluded United Nations High-Level Conference on South-South Cooperation held on December, in Nairobi, from 1961 to December 2008, 448,649 professionals had cooperated in more them 167 countries. Nearly 135,000 of them were healthcare professionals and technicians, who had rendered their services in 107 countries.

The aforementioned constitutes small examples of how much can be done in terms of cooperation when there is a real willingness.

In the face of the tragedy suffered currently by the Haitian sister nation, the Cubans have also offered their cooperation. Up to 3 February this year, 604 Cubans, along with 394 Haitian youths who have studied in Cuba, had provided medical assistance to Haiti. Fifty-three thousand four hundred and two patients have been already tended to; 3,367 surgeries have been carried out; and 16 operating theaters, with 18 surgical equipments, have been put to use.

Mr. Chairman,

The responsibility we have during this 16th session of the High-Level Committee on South-South Cooperation is essential, if we want the implementation of the decisions contained in the final document of the Nairobi Conference to be successful.

We consider we all must thoroughly analyze and reflect on the need to direct our efforts and resources towards the development of our countries, committing ourselves to the basic principles of South-South cooperation, avoiding principles tarnishing its essence like the so-called “principles of aid effectiveness”, and bearing in mind that our peoples are confident that we can offer them a better future.

Thank you.

(Cubaminrex- Embacuba ONU)