HAVANA, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Tuesday called on Latin American countries to deepen regional integration as the only way to bolster economic growth and reduce inequalities in the continent.
Speaking at the inauguration of the 37th session of Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Diaz-Canel said the goal of the region should be to increase economic growth with social justice and equality.
"There is no other option but to move forward with regional integration and development with equity," said the newly-elected Cuban leader to the 46 member nations of ECLAC.
In his speech, he highlighted that the UN regional organization has been for decades a reference of economic and social knowledge for the continent, contributing in placing equity as an important development goal.
Diaz-Canel praised ECLAC's role in projecting the region's economic growth and development as well as scientific studies on the structural causes that make Latin America and the Caribbean the most unequal continent in the planet.
"It is an inequality associated with the colonial past of our nations, which affects in particular indigenous people, African descent population, girls and women," he said at a ceremony where UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and ECLAC executive secretary, Alicia Barcena, also participated.
For decades, said the Cuban president, many nations in the region have been part of neoliberal and macroeconomic policies which only benefited international companies making social differences and discrimination even larger.
He reiterated his government's commitment to the common struggle for the economic and social development in Latin America and vowed to work along with ECLAC in the next two years to deepen the role of this UN organization.
"Cuba is committed with ECLAC, regional integration and solidarity amongst our nations to continue advancing together despite our diversity," Diaz-Canel said in his first major speech to an international organization.
"We work on a national economic and social development plan until 2030, whose strategic axes are linked with the UN Sustainable Development Goals," he said.
He also reiterated Cuba's commitment to solidarity cooperation with other countries based on mutual respect, generous assistance and complementarity.
Havana received from Mexico the two-year rotatory presidency of ECLAC supporting the UN body in its quest for an inclusive and sustainable continent.
"We have received the presidency of ECLAC with a high commitment and awareness of the challenges we face, focused on continuing to promote cooperation among the countries of the region," he stated.
The ECLAC meeting, scheduled until Friday at Havana's Convention Center, calls on the region to address priorities such as the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the fight against inequality and the promotion of South-South cooperation.
ECLAC is one of the five regional commissions of the UN and its headquarters are in Santiago of Chile. Its objective is to contribute to the economic development of Latin America and the Caribbean, coordinate actions aimed at its promotion and strengthen relations between the continent and the rest of the world.
