By Roy Lie Atjam
The Hague, on 10 February 2023, the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba celebrated the 64th Anniversary of the Triumph of the Cuban Revolution.
The diplomatic community was out in its numbers to join in the celebration. To mention a few, representatives from Russia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Panama, Finland, South Africa, Belarus, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan and dozens of others.
In her welcome remarks, H.E. Mrs Anet Pino Rivero, Ambassador of Cuba stated, “first, I want to send my deepest condolences to the government, people and families of victims in Turkey and Syria for the loss of human lives and material damages caused by the terrible earthquake.
The Ambassador continued, “it has been 64 years of having a free and sovereign Cuban despite economic difficulties, mainly because of 61 years of an unfair economic, financial and commercial blockade imposed against Cuba, the longest against any country in the world. However, we continue our efforts to have a country with everyone and for the good of all.”
According to the Ambassador, in 2022, Cuba was affected by a meteorological phenomenon and 243 additional measures against Cuba by the USA during the pandemic.
“In spite of all this, and with the premise of achieving the welfare of our people, Cuba continues working to achieve its development goals. We are proud of many things because Cuba preserves its achievements and has new ones.”
As for the COVID-19 dossier, Ambassador Pino Rivero shared the following information, “due to the excellent capacity and knowledge of our researchers, Cuba managed to have three own vaccines against COVID-19. More than 90% of the population, including children older than 2 years old, are fully vaccinated. Our solidarity is showed, by having more than 23,000 Cuban collaborators working in 56 nations in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.
More than 2.2 million tourists visited Cuba in 2022, which represented a growth of 400% compared to the 2021 figures.
The continued improvement of the rule of law was also important. At the end of 2022, 18 laws were approved in Cuba in order to strengthening the rights and guarantees of people.”
The Ambassador was pleased to announce that last year Cuba had important visits of official Cuban delegations to many countries and others came to Cuba, “we hosted international events such as the VIII Cuba-CARICOM Summit, the IV Cuba-Health International Convention, the Havana International Trade Fair, among others.”
Cuba continues giving a great importance to the implementation of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between Cuba and the European Union.
“In 2022 Cuba and the Netherlands celebrated their 120th anniversary of uninterrupted diplomatic relations. These relations include bilateral political consultations, cultural, sports and academic exchanges, economic-commercial relations, and projects for coastal protection, business and others. All these relationships are based on dialogue, cooperation and respect.
We appreciate the Netherlands´s support to Cuba against the embargo.
The economic and commercial relations between both countries are vital in these links, given the potential of the Netherlands in this sector. For this, it is important to promote investments and business opportunities in Cuba. With the experience of companies such as Womy and Nirint, it is intended to launch a digital platform that helps in this purpose.
From The Hague Cuba recently started the attention to Luxembourg. We appreciate its support in our battle against the embargo and we continue working to strength and reinforce these 80 years of bilateral relations.
It also worth mentioning the significant increase in Dutch citizens who visit Cuba, which have also contributed to the knowledge and approach between Cuban and the Dutch society. Also, the valuable Cubans who live in this country and are inserted in and contribute to the Dutch society.
We continue to carry out the diplomacy of dialogue, friendship, cooperation, inclusiveness and peace, with respect for the sovereignty and self-determination of the peoples. We do not doubt that a better world is possible.”
Ambassador Pino Rivero concluded her remarks with, “I´d like to thank all the Dutch friends and others that love Cuba who are here with us tonight, and helped me make this celebration possible. Thank you and enjoy“ end quote.
The Cuban musical group Amigos Latinos, including two singers interpreted typical Cuban music. Also on the program, Rum, Mojitos, Ropa vieja, Arroz Congris and other delicasies. All these augmented contributed to the outstanding ambience.
Once again, it has been an excellent celebration of the Triumph of Cuban Revolution.
