Prime Minister, Dr. the Right Honourable Keith Mitchell, has expressed gratitude to Cuba for its valuable assistance in boosting Grenada’s capacity to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Addressing the Cuban President and fellow regional leaders during the 7th Cuba CARICOM Summit on Tuesday, Dr. Mitchell said, “Despite facing its own challenges with the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuba assisted Grenada in our national response. Cuba was quite generous through the provision of specialised nurses in infectious diseases and specialist physicians, particularly in the intensive care specialty. I take this opportunity to publicly thank our Cuban brothers and sisters for their continued support.
Dr. Mitchell also acknowledged the assistance provided by Cuba in a number of other areas, and expressed a desire to see deepened cooperation between the two countries.
He said, “Our long-standing collaboration with Cuba in the multilateral arena provides a clear demonstration of our dedication to regional and hemispheric integration. Further, Grenada’s bilateral relationship with Cuba is characterised by mutual respect and cooperation in many areas including, health, education, engineering and architecture.”
The Prime Minister cited climate change and disaster mitigation as other areas of critical support provided by Cuba. He told the gathering of regional leaders, “There are countless examples of Cuba being a great friend to our country in particular, and the region as a whole. Tremendous support has been extended to our countries, in the preparation for, and in the aftermath of natural disasters. Cuba must be commended for its excellent disaster prevention programme, which has long been applauded by the international community. Grenada looks forward to continuous learning from our colleagues in Cuba in this particular area.”
On the subject of the financial, economic and trade embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba, Dr. Mitchell said, “Grenada, like the rest of CARICOM, does not support this blockade and we will continue to support Cuba in its quest for it to end. Each
year, Grenada stresses the counter-productivity of this action and the hardship it imposes on the Cuban people, causing them to be unfairly marginalised.”
He also expressed the hope that the incoming administration in the United States will restart the process to lift the embargo. “With the recent elections in the United States, we do hope that from January 2021, there will be a serious turn of events. With CARICOM’s initiative, we will work towards getting this blockade ended as fast as possible, since it was in fact the same Democratic administration that started the process of serious re engagement with Cuba.”
The CARICOM-Cuba Summit was held on the occasion of CARICOM-Cuba Day and the Prime Minister concluded by expressing a desire to see the advancement and well-being of the people of Cuba and the region as a whole.
The 8th CARICOM-Cuba Summit will be held in 2023.
