Havana, Feb 16 (ACN) The crisis unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic has worsen a series of previous problems threatening plans for regional integration, said Rodolfo Sabonge, general secretary of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS).
During his First visit to Cuba, the Panamanian official gave a key-note lecture at the University of Havana entitled “Challenges and Prospects of the Great Caribbean at Present,” in the presence of university rector Miriam Nicado, professors, experts and diplomats.
Sanbonge referred to our peoples’ shared experience such as the common history of imperialist exploitation over the past centuries. This added to the different cultures, languages, religions and ethnic groups contributed to the formation of a geographic area of large diversity, but quite united by its mutual interest and closeness.
He also addressed the exhaust of the neoliberal globalization model evidenced by the US trade war against China and how this influences the economic and political configuration of ACS member states. So he alerted about the surfacing of a new imperialism in full transformation represented by a corporate tissue which is much stronger than many states.
In this scenario it is crucial to prepare students so that they understand and overcome the hurdles posed by this world, said the ACS general secretary, who went on to stress the role of vaccines in the reactivation of trade and financial activity towards the empowering of the sustainable development goals and the adaptation to climate change.
The ACS was set up in 1994 representing the will of the Caribbean Community to meet the challenes posed by the global system of underdeveloped and vulnerable nations. So it works as a governmental institution for regional consultation, coordination and cooperation.
