«Today From the Presidency does not occupy its usual space; “We are carrying out this program from the flight that takes us back to the homeland after intense days of work in the Russian Federation.”
This was the presentation of the new episode of the podcast hosted by colleague Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, and which is broadcast from the YouTube channel of the Presidency of the Republic.
It was recorded at more than 10,000 meters above sea level, already entering the Atlantic, leaving the Greenwich meridian behind, after taking off from Houari Boumedienne International Airport, where a technical stopover was made on the Moscow-Havana route, and where the Head of State was received by high Algerian authorities.
For almost half an hour, by chance or complicity, the elements allowed the aircraft to fly in relative calm, making the work much, but not entirely, easier for the technical team of the Communication group of the Presidency-Revolution Studies, and even for the panelists, who more than once had to deal with the forces of physics. However, seconds after, perhaps a minute, the conversation between Díaz-Canel and Rodríguez Parrilla concluded, another zone of turbulence was entered.
With a “greeting to all those who connect with this information space, and our population, whether through networks, television, radio or through the Internet,” the First Secretary of the Party and President of the Republic began his already a regular and anticipated program, despite the fact that it is only in its fifth episode.
After explaining that the program this time would be to inform our people about “the objectives, the missions, that we pursue with this visit to the Russian Federation.” Díaz-Canel commented first of all that this “has been a journey of very significant events.”
He thus pointed out that he arrived in Moscow precisely on the day that President Vladimir Putin was taking office after being re-elected in an election where he obtained the majority vote; On the other hand – he added – we participate in the Supreme Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission, of which Cuba is an observer member.
Also – I continue to report – at the invitation of President Putin, we attended the Parade for the 79th Anniversary of Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War; at the same time we held official conversations, during which we exchanged about global problems, current events in the Russian Federation, about our bilateral relations and, of course, about the current problems that we are experiencing in our country.
«To comment on these issues, to clarify the objectives of this visit, to also talk about the balances and what this visit leaves us, we want to share this space today with our chancellor, the member of the Political Bureau and Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla,” he noted.
The significance for Cuba of having participated in the Supreme Council of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) was the first issue developed by the panelists. This is an organization “with autonomous development, based on the interests of our people, outside the mechanisms of domination of the international system controlled by the dollar.”
The EAEU is an integrationist bloc that brings together several Eurasian countries that were previously part of the former Soviet Union. At the summit on May 8, when the organization’s 10th Anniversary was also celebrated, Díaz-Canel exchanged with the leaders of those countries, some of whom he met personally there. And all the presidents, he said, also showed respect, warmth towards Cuba.
When reviewing the participation of the official Cuban delegation in the activities for the 79th Anniversary of the Day of Victory over Nazi Germany, other of the central activities carried out by the President and the official delegation, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla recalled that he had attended the 70th Anniversary parade, in 2015, accompanying Army General Raúl Castro Ruz.
The Foreign Minister also considered the presence of Cuba to be very significant, this time, in the person of President Díaz-Canel, in the commemorations for the victory of the Soviet Union over fascism, due, he explained, to the current international context, where the aggressiveness of imperialism and neo-fascist tendencies proliferate, genocide is committed against Palestine with impunity with the complicity of the mainstream media, blockades are tightened, xenophobia and other evils are growing that overwhelm and threaten humanity.
Another of the milestones commented by the Cuban President and the Foreign Minister, of a visit that they described as “quick, short, intense, but also necessary,” were the meeting and official conversations with President Putin and a part of his cabinet, the which took place after the military parade for the 79th Anniversary of Victory Day.
The presence of Cuba, said Rodríguez Parrilla, “was highly recognized by Russian colleagues, in particular by President Putin and other leaders, who welcomed it with great warmth, with great solidarity, with great understanding of the difficult circumstances.” “What our economy is going through in the face of the onslaught of the blockade and US imperialism.”
His presence in Russia, the Chancellor commented to the President, I think was also appreciated as a show of solidarity. “Russia,” he said, “is a great country that historically, since the Soviet Union, and now, always, has been next to Cuba.”
Russia, he added, is a country “that makes an important contribution to the construction of a new international order, which has supported the fight against the blockade in a determined and firm manner, as well as the denunciation of Cuba’s presence on the list.” of alleged sponsors of terrorism.
But, Rodríguez Parrilla noted, it is not just a speech, but “the economic relationship between Russia and Cuba is significant, it is very important. “Russia,” he added, “is a big supplier of fuel; has supplied fertilizers, which have a lot to do with food production, and – he summarized – there is a short, medium and long-term program that offers opportunities to our economy and that at the same time brings benefits to the Russian economy, at the same time that Cuba is for Russia a door to Latin America and the Caribbean.
So, our Minister of Foreign Affairs reflected, the meetings that you have held have been very substantive.
The Cuban President, by way of general information about the results of the dialogues between the two countries, which include four visits by him to Russia (2018, 2019, 2022 and now), commented that the current visit addressed the way in which Progress has been made in a group of projects.
He reported that currently in Cuba we have six business projects that are in operation with the Russian business community; There are four that have been recently approved and will begin to be implemented; and there are five others that have been presented and on which joint evaluations are being made to conclude with their approval.
And they are projects, he explained, that are inserted into the country’s priorities: the energy system and the food system. Issues – he added – that we talked about about their progress and also about some difficulties, to move forward faster.
On the other hand, the President added at another point in the podcast, “new things that can be done for the emergency that we have in our country and help alleviate the energy situation and also the situation with food” were evaluated.
And all this, he reflected, gives confidence and gives a very positive result in terms of collaboration, in terms of relationships, but also for the life of our people within so much hardship that they have to face daily due to the effects of the blockade.
