Mr. Secretary General:
Mr. President:
Distinguished Heads of State or Government:
Permanent Representatives:

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on every countrys economy, society, health, finances and employment, and developing nations have suffered the worst part of it.

In the face of the growing expenses to counter the pandemic and the income decrease due to the stagnation of the economy and international trade, commercial and tax deficits grow as well as the payment balance of developing countries, and so does food insecurity.

The current world crisis has been worsened by the protectionism of the United States of America, by its commercial wars and its coercive and unilateral economic measures against sovereign States, which violate the Charter of the United Nations, International Law and multilateral trade regulations.

For 60 years, Cuba has been the object of a harsh economic, commercial and financial blockade with an extraterritorial extent imposed by the government of the United States of America, which is the main obstacle preventing social and economic growth in our country. Even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been strengthened to hamper the acquisition of medicine, equipment and medical inputs that are essential under current circumstances, denying the most basic of all rights: the right to live.

In light of those unprecedented challenges, concrete answers are required urgently, and those answers should also be humanitarian, inclusive, fair, innovative and coordinated. Global problems need global solutions, without any type of discrimination, political, economic or any other kind of exclusion.

We support all initiatives that might help reduce debts, even though theyre still insufficient; the unaffordable foreign debt carried by southern countries must be eliminated because it deepens the pandemics socioeconomic effects and threatens the sustainable development of those nations.

The commitments on official development assistance, increased external financing on fair terms, as well as market access and technology transfers, must be fulfilled.

The people of the world need effective and immediate solutions. It is time to act. We need deeds, not words.

Thank you very much.

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