Cuba does not Need the OAS, says Foreign Minister

CubaNow.Net

Willy Wright

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said in Caracas that his country is proud of not being be part of the Organization of American States (OAS), which he described as anachronistic mechanism.

The top government Cuban official made his statements following a meeting of foreign ministers of the Bolivarian Alternative for Our Americas, a regional integration project known by its acronyms ALBA.

Cuba does not need the OAS, Bruno Rodriguez said as he pointed out that the return of the Caribbean nation to the hemispheric organization is not under any considerations; the OAS has historically been used by the United States and it continues to be such an instrument at present, he said.

It is now time for the changes taking place in Latin America and the Caribbean to reach the OAS, said the top Cuban diplomat; he noted that one way or the other that organization is anachronistic and serves foreign interests, “while we feel that our path, the path to be followed by Cuba, is the one leading to Latin American and Caribbean integration,” Rodriguez stressed.

He described the ALBA ministerial meeting as productive and fruitful because foreign ministers not only addressed international issues, but also the “real integration process of our nations, our governments, that focus their work on the benefit of our people and not on the interest of the US empire.”

The ALBA foreign ministers analyzed the performance of the integration mechanism in relation to several issues, like the economic crisis, food production and the building of agricultural machinery. They also ratified their position adopted in the recent ALBA Summit, which condemned the 1962 OAS resolution the expelled Cuba from the hemispheric organization.

May 26, 2009, 10:48 am