HAVANA, Cuba, Jun 22 (ACN) “Building a prosperous and sustainable socialism is not possible without energy development, a highly topical issue impossible to disregard now that the world is facing the crisis caused by climate change,” Commander of the Revolution Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, deputy prime minister of Cuba, said at the opening of the 2nd Renewable Energy Fair, attended by guests from more than 30 countries and domestic and foreign universities and enterprises engaged in the rational and efficient use of renewable energy sources
He remarked that Cuba needs to guarantee people’s access to clean energies, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, which is a government priority, even if the use of renewable sources in the country is still insufficient.
“Hard work is underway with a view to a full transition of the nation’s energy matrix to power production based on these alternatives in order to guarantee our energy sovereignty,” he pointed out, “and this transition must be a safe and environmentally friendly.”
To this end, Valdés Menéndez underscored the role of economic actors in solving local problems and boosting production and regional import-export services, as well as the importance of the Fair for foreign investment in the energy sector despite the restrictions imposed by the U.S.
blockade, “which cannot prevent Cuba and other countries from forming alliances and building capacity,” he added.