Havana, Cuba.- The support of the international community for lifting the U.S. blockade against Cuba is among the outstanding issues of the report on Cuban foreign policy results in 2018.
Published by the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the text recalls that the UN General Assembly approved for the 27th consecutive year the resolution ‘Necessity of Ending the Economic, Commercial and Financial Blockade Imposed by the United States of America against Cuba’, with 189 votes for, 2 against (United States and Israel) and 2 abstentions (Ukraine and Moldova).
Cuba expanded exchanges in 2018 with the 195 states with which it has diplomatic relations. About 33 heads of State, nine vice-presidents or deputy prime ministers and 14 foreign ministers visited the nation last year.
Referring to the ties with Latin America and the Caribbean, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel’s visit to Venezuela, as well as trips to Cuba of the presidents of Bolivia, Panama, El Salvador, Haiti, Suriname and Guyana, the prime ministers of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica and Belize, among others, stands out.
The participation of former Cuban President Raul Castro in the 15th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples’ Trade Treaty and the holding in Cuba of the 16th Summit of that bloc also stands out among the major actions in 2018, the text states.
Cuba also participated in the 8th Summit of the Americas, held in Peru, in inter-ministerial political consultation rounds with Peru, Mexico, Uruguay and El Salvador and held the 24th Meeting of the Sao Paulo Forum in Havana.
According to the document, 2018 was a year in which the relationships with Asia and Oceania were strengthened, and among the main actions are Diaz-Canel’s official visit to Russia, China, Vietnam, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Lao People’s Democratic Republic, meanwhile, the collaboration between Cuba and the African countries deepened and diversified.
In addition, the relationships with North African and the Middle East countries continued to be strengthened with visits by Cuban authorities to those regions and trips to Cuba of the presidents of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and the Palestinian National Authority.
The relationships with the European Union developed positively, in the context of the implementation of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement. Diaz-Canel also held meetings with authorities in France and the United Kingdom, during his visits to both countries.
The United States deployed a growing aggressive rhetoric against Cuba and stated that the Monroe Doctrine remains in force, as an expression of its hegemonic projection towards Latin America and the Caribbean.