‘It is essential that we multiply collaboration among the Global South countries,’ Deputy PM Tapia said.

On Monday, Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Jorge Tapia criticized the current unjust international order that allocates millions of dollars to military spending instead of investing in transforming global food systems.

RELATED:

72 Years of the Cuban Revolution: Critical Milestone in a Rising Global Resistance

“It is essential that we multiply collaboration among our countries in the Global South,” he said during the opening of the Second Stocktaking Moment of the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS+4) in Addis Ababa.

Tapia called for prioritizing the exchange of experiences on food security, sovereignty, nutrition, science and innovation, agroecology, proper treatment of food loss and waste, and policies for the transformation of food systems.

“This will not be possible as long as the current unjust international order prevails, where millions of dollars are allocated each year to military spending and where many of us are victims of coercive bilateral measures that hamper our aspirations,” the Cuban official said, referring to the U.S. blockade against his country, which has been in place for more than 60 years.

“This cruel economic war prevents us from developing an agricultural system capable of meeting all the food demands of our population, as we lack essential productive inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, energy supplies, machinery, agricultural equipment and spare parts, irrigation systems, and more,” Tapia stressed.

“The resources to eradicate hunger are available—it only takes political will and commitment to use them for the benefit of the people,” he said, noting that “South-South cooperation has shown that with solidarity and determination, it is possible to promote food security.”

The senior Cuban official also denounced “an international order incapable of preventing Palestine, the victim of genocide committed by Israel, from facing a severe food crisis.”

On Monday and Tuesday, UNFSS+4 is meeting to review progress on agreements reached in 2021 in New York to build more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agri-food systems.

The summit is taking place amid global cuts in development aid, the climate crisis, and increasing geopolitical fragmentation. The event has been co-organized by the governments of Ethiopia and Italy.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

IN THIS ARTICLE