PARIS, June 24 (NNN-ACN) — “Make yourself at home,” said UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay to the President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, who visited the headquarters of the United Nations agency, in the framework of his participation in the Summit for a New World Financial Order, which is being held in this city.
After the reception at the entrance of the emblematic building, recognized as a treasure of modern architecture, and taking the official photo in front of the flags of Cuba and UNESCO, both leaders held a meeting, in which the Director General gave a “cordial welcome” to the Cuban leader and described the relations between Cuba and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as excellent.
Azoulay said she kept very pleasant memories of her visit to Havana, which took place in December 2019, in which she was also received by the Head of State at the Palace of the Revolution.
Diaz-Canel stated that every time he comes to UNESCO -this is his second time here, the previous one was in 2018- he feels at home, and was “very grateful for the opportunity to come back”.
After the talks, the Cuban President wrote in the book of visitors to this multilateral organization that “it is an immense pleasure to visit UNESCO headquarters once again and to be able to talk, share ideas, dreams and purposes in terms of the defense of education, science and culture as pillars for world peace.
Thank you very much for giving us this opportunity, he subscribed, with all the respect, admiration and affection of Cuba for the work of UNESCO.
“UNESCO can count on Cuba, just as Cuba counts on UNESCO,” he stressed.
Cuba’s ambassador to UNESCO, Yahima Esquivel Moynelo, told reporters about the historic and very deep ties that have existed for 70 years between Cuba and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
It was the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, she reflected, the fact that allowed for closer relations between the largest of the Antilles and UNESCO, since this multilateral organization “promotes the fundamental principles of our social project.
As milestones in that seven-decade relationship that has been established, Esquivel Moynelo highlighted the visits of the last directors general of the organization to Cuba: the current director, Audrey Azoulay, visited in 2019, and her predecessor, Irina Bokova, did so on three occasions, as well as several years earlier Federico Mayor Zaragoza visited us.
With special significance she evoked the historic visit made in 1995 by Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, in the context of which he delivered a great speech at the UNESCO Executive Board.
These are facts that also support Cuba’s commitment to UNESCO and UNESCO’s commitment to Cuba, which brings closer and reaffirms existing relations, she considered. And as part of that mutual commitment, she also stressed how every year the Organization sends the United Nations a report on the implications of the blockade for the Caribbean nation within the spheres of competence of the multilateral organization.
One of the most significant milestones of those historic ties is the Literacy Campaign in Cuba, carried out in 1961. At that time, Esquivel Moynelo said, “UNESCO provided support in the preparation of primers and manuals, as well as methodological advice on the process.
In the current context, she noted, it is essential “to continue working and consolidating our relations with the Organization to continue promoting education as a fundamental human right, as well as access to culture and science, for the benefit of mankind.
Referring to the joint projects currently underway, the diplomat explained that one of the most important is the Transcultura project, “in which Havana is a regional training center for young people in the Caribbean.
This project, she explained, which is being carried out jointly with the European Union and is also managed by UNESCO from its office in the Cuban capital, “is dedicated to the youth of the Caribbean”. For its development, Esquivel Moynelo explained, Cuba uses “its educational institutions such as the Higher Institute of Arts, the University of Havana, the San Geronimo University College, and the International Film School, to train young people in aspects such as cultural and creative industries”. — NNN-ACN
