Havana, Cuba, March 19, 2024.- The Executive Secretary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), Jorge Arreaza, had a meeting with members of the Government of the Republic of Cuba last Tuesday.

The first meeting of the Executive Secretary of the Alliance was with the Cuban Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Josefina Vidal, to discuss the 2030 Agenda of the regional bloc.

Staff from the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs also attended the meeting, where they discussed the goals and challenges of the Caribbean country and the Alliance.

Regarding this important meeting, Vice-Minister Vidal expressed her great satisfaction for the dialogue with the Executive Secretary. “I am very pleased to meet Jorge Arreaza, the new Executive Secretary of Alliance, which is privileged to count on his experience and commitment to promote its integral consolidation. Vidal said through her social networks: “Excellent exchange of ideas on the strategic agenda of the Alliance. All support from Cuba”

Health for ALBA: coordination and exchange

On Tuesday afternoon, Arreaza also met with the President of Biocubafarma, Mayda Mauri Pérez, and the Vice-President of this institution, Luis Alarcón, to define some strategies to provide health care to the ALBA-TCP member countries.

The president of Biocubafarma and the Executive Secretary of the regional bloc assessed the possibilities of coordination and exchange for the member countries of the Alliance: Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Dominica and St. Lucia.

In line with this cooperation and brotherhood focus, Pérez explained that Biocubafarma brings together 47 companies, 34 in the country and 13 abroad. They include research, development and production of medicines.

Mayda Mauri Pérez explained that this is an industry “where the purpose of research is to provide solutions to problems”.

She also expressed that “one of our founding principles is not to compete, but to complement each other”. Pérez highlighted that Biocubafarma works according to the national health system and, even though they are not part of the Ministry of Health, they work together in different programs.

This industry has been part of the Cuba-Venezuela Agreement from the very beginning, and it has played an essential role in Barrio Adentro 1 and Barrio Adentro 2 social programs, as well as in the different vaccination campaigns carried out in Venezuela, given that the production of vaccines is one of its strengths.

Promoting agriculture

Cuba’s Vice-Minister of Agriculture, Maury Hechavarría Bermúdez, and his office’s teams met with Jorge Arreaza to renew cooperation ties in this area, which has been affected in recent years by the U.S. government and the unilateral coercive measures imposed on some ALBA-TCP member countries.

Hechavarría stated that agriculture in Cuba has a great scientific potential that can contribute to the Alliance countries.

During the meeting, Arreaza added that “at such a time when imperialism is stumbling, we have to strengthen our union and our mechanisms, we have to strengthen the alliance and not only think about the impact it could have on Cuba and Venezuela, but on all the countries of the bloc”.

According to him, it is time to reactivate ALBA politically, socially and economically. “We have to study all the experiences in each country (…) to see what things we, as ALBA, can offer to the 10 members of the Alliance”.

The Executive Secretary recalled that the authorities of the member countries have made guaranteeing food sovereignty a priority.

He affirmed that ALBA-TCP is willing to receive technical assistance from Cuba as well as to develop complementary agricultural and livestock projects.

Furthermore, Jorge Arreaza stated that the Alliance is evaluating the Sucre currency “in the light of new technologies and the new financial world”.

Trade for integration

Likewise, the Secretary of the Alliance had the opportunity to meet with Oscar Pérez Oliva Fraga, First Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Trade, to exchange views on the importance of connectivity through trade.

Both agreed that ALBA is an essential mechanism for cooperation and economic complementation.

“We are going to review those trade agreements, we are going to take a firm step towards viable projects, demonstrating that ALBA is alive, that ALBA exists and that ALBA is going to be a great response in this coming decade,” said Arreaza.