Raúl Delgado Concepción: The will to strengthen the bilateral relations prevails

Politics
ooluun@montsame.mn
2020-12-07 13:00:20

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The 60th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Mongolia and the Republic of Cuba falls today. On the occasion of the event Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cuba to Mongolia, Mr.Raúl Delgado Concepción shares his view, experience and plans regarding the relations of the two countries.


• Current state of the bilateral relations

The bilateral relations between Cuba and Mongolia date back to December 7, 1960 when both countries began to travel the path of mutual knowledge, cooperation and established the good relations marked by their political coincidences of two nations with great potential in its people and long history.

During these 60 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, high-level delegations have made bilateral visits that mark historical moments. The visit in May 1970 to Mongolia by the Army General and Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Raúl Castro Ruz brought a message of solidarity and friendship of the Cuban people. He was accompanied on that visit by the prestigious Cuban intellectual and National Poet, Nicolás Guillén who from that moment on would serve as President of the Association of Friendship between Cuba and Mongolia.

 Many events have transpired during these 60 years of uninterrupted bilateral relations, I just want to emphasize that the will to continue expanding and strengthening them in the midst of a more and more globalized world has prevailed in this relationship between our two peoples and nations.




Future prospective, potential areas of collaboration

We have great potential for areas of collaboration between our two countries, despite the main limitation that constitutes the 12,000 km that physically separate us. Among the areas that we can point out as historical cooperation between our countries are those in which each one has the greatest potential or development and which in the past constituted bridges of commercial and economic exchange.

Currently these potentialities are framed for the Cuban side in biotechnological pharmaceutical productions, the cooperation of Cuban medical specialists, tourism, the training of human resources and in fields such as sport and culture. On the Mongolian side, however, it would be useful for Cuba to take advantage of Mongolia's experience in the extraction and processing of minerals and also on animal husbandry.


Cultural and educational cooperation

The cultural and educational cooperation that our country offered to Mongolia from as early as 1963, when the first Mongolian students arrived in Cuba, constitutes an aspect that makes us proud in this relationship. With the modest and altruistic effort of our government, 128 young Mongolians have graduated in Cuba since that date. With the sole objective of contributing to the training of these young people to build a better society in Mongolia, they have been able to study the most dissimilar university degrees such as Medicine, Stomatology, Veterinary Medicine, Sports and Physical Culture, Law, Engineering, Pedagogy among many others.

Today these young people, formed into an Association of Graduates in Cuba, contribute to do their bit day by day to a better and more prepared society for the future of Mongolia. Our government, to the extent of its economic possibilities, has continued to offer these scholarships to young Mongols every year as a sign of our commitment to that friendship and the wish that these young people from low-income families in Mongolia can also access to university education.


Multilateral cooperation

The area of ​​multilateral cooperation is among the most common in our two nations. I must remark at this point the gratitude of our Government and our people for the continued support of Mongolia in the battle that Cuba waged for more than 27 years in the framework of the United Nations General Assembly against the criminal and genocidal blockade that the States United States of North America have imposed Cuba for more than 59 years. Mongolia's support for the Resolution that Cuba presents every year against this policy of economic suffocation, highlights the adherence of both countries to the precepts of the United Nations Charter, respect for the sovereignty and self-determination of peoples as principles of foreign policy.

Our two countries cooperate extensively within the framework of multilateral international organizations on the issues of great importance that are discussed and negotiated there. This area of ​​work is also part of the strengths of our bilateral relationship, which we are addressing today in this interview.


Plans for 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations

From the beginning of this year 2020, both countries, through their diplomatic missions and their Foreign Ministries, approved a plan for the celebration of this important anniversary, which includes high-level visits, the celebration of cultural and political events, book editions, among others.

Some of these activities scheduled for this year have had to be postponed due to the COVID 19 pandemic and the emerging containment measures taken to protect and safeguard the population of both countries from the spread of this deadly disease. These activities to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations will be resumed as soon as the safety and health conditions for it are restored.


Sharing personal experience as Ambassador of Cuba in Mongolia

As the Cuban Ambassador to Mongolia, I consider it a historical privilege to have been able to carry out my work during this period of time, which included such an important event as the celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. During these four years of working with the authorities and the Mongolian people, we have been able to accumulate numerous experiences on the culture, family, education and the most ancient traditions of the Mongols.

All these experiences constitute a historical learning framework for me, of a region and a country that played, during the centuries from XI to XIII, an important role in the history of humanity. I believe that sharing the history of Mongolia and its traditions constitutes the main experience during my stay as Ambassador of Cuba in this fellow country.

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