Cuba needs to undertake integrationist processes in Latin America

THE need to reinforce joint work in the search for regional integration from a position that is not linked to liberalization and the complex scenario of negotiations within the WTO was highlighted by Ricardo Cabrisas, Cuban government minister, speaking at the 14th Meeting of the Council of Ministers of ALADI (Latin American Integration Association), in Montevideo, Uruguay.

"Cuba believes that is not in the interests of the ALADI that postures and positions linked to such a complex and dissimilar scenario as that of WTO negotiations are placed on us," said Cabrisas, who noted that via that organization (the WTO) the poorest nations have to confront "the intentions of developed countries to impose their economic interests and maintain their advantages in international trade."

The minister stressed the inefficiencies of trade liberalization which, he noted, far from solving existing inequalities, has accentuated those asymmetries, and cited climate change, higher food prices and the world energy situation as factors intensified by it.

The different positions expressed during preparations for the meeting "are related to the complex process of multilateral trade negotiations in the context of the WTO Doha Round, to the persistence of economic asymmetries among our countries, and to different focuses on how to approach integration in Latin America and the Caribbean," he stated.