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The island has held this position since the previous ECLAC forum that took place in Havana in May 2018.
Cuba’s President Miguel Diaz-Canel today officially hands over the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) pro tempore presidency to Costa Rica after occupying this position for the last two years.
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The ECLAC 38th session started today virtually until October 28 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, the ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Barcenas, Costa Rica’s President Carlos Alvarado, Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Angel Gurria take part in this meeting.
Cuba's presidency focused on fundamental lines of work which included developing the ECLAC 2030 Agenda in the region, prioritizing the Caribbean and strengthening South-South cooperation.
Cuba's Commerce Minister Rodrigo Malmierca stated that the organization’s leadership represented a challenge as the island is subject to a tight economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States that limits Cuba’s capacity to cooperate in the international arena.
@DiazCanelB: Alicia Bárcena: "Cuba has been an outstanding chair, displaying leadership, commitment and conviction." #SomosCuba #SomosContinuidad pic.twitter.com/9nXFGZtYg8
— Dayani Haro Cordovéz ���� (@cubareloj) October 25, 2020
Barcenas pointed out that Cuba has performed an exceptional presidency as it shown an excellent leadership capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlighted the island's emphasis on placing multilateralism as a key tool for a sustainable development.
“It has achieved great success in universal health and education… there are many countries in our region that have received the solidarity and cooperation of Cuba’s medical brigades to face the pandemic,” she added.
During the two years of mandate, Cuba organized and took part in different events such as the High Level Political Forum (2018), the Regional Conference on Population and Development (2018), the Second High-level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation (2018), and the Third Meeting of the Regional Forum (2019).
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