Havana, Cuba.- Cuba and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) expressed on Monday their willingness to strengthen cooperation and joint work in disaster situations.

Such willingness was expressed by the vice president of the National Assembly of People’s Power of the Caribbean nation (Parliament), Ana Mari Machado, and the executive director of the IFRC, Jagan Chapagain, during a meeting at the Legislative headquarters.

Chapagain acknowledged the island’s solidarity with other peoples of the world, especially in the public health sector, despite the country’s difficult economic situation.

He emphasized that his official visit to Cuba “seeks to make cooperation and response to disaster situations more effective and immediate, in addition to exploring opportunities for digital connectivity”.

The Cuban Parliament informed that the head of state also made reference to the relevance of global solidarity for the benefit of the peoples, beyond the political differences between States.

Mari Machado commented on the effects of the blockade imposed by the United States on all sectors of society, the implementation of the 243 measures applied by former President Donald Trump (2017-2021) and the discrediting campaign against Cuban medical cooperation programs.

Mari Machado highlighted the work of the IFRC worldwide and of the Cuban Red Cross in the face of accidents or climatological events, while thanking the federation on behalf of the Caribbean country for the support received on several occasions.

“We are willing to exchange experiences, not only from the parliamentary sphere, but also on the conception and peculiarities of our health system,” he stressed.

During his stay in Cuba, the IFRC executive director will hold exchanges with executives from the Ministry of Public Health and the Civil Defense.