St. George’s, Grenada – November 25, 2008:- Every year the Joint Commission provides the opportunity for the review joint cooperation and has also served to reinforce the relations between Grenada and the Republic of Cuba. This year is no exception.

Over the past day and a half I am told that agreement has been reached to continue cooperation activities in the fields of Health care, Education and Human Resource Development, Agriculture and Works, Sports and Culture. Some new areas of cooperation have also been included.

I am indeed happy to note that Grenadians will continue to have the opportunity to study in Cuban Universities in traditional areas offered such as Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Medicine, Economics, Architecture among others. 

Ladies and gentlemen,

Over the last twenty years, more than 300 Grenadians have received training in Cuba, the majority at University level.

For the current academic year 23 Grenadians have been awarded scholarship, we now have a total of 74 students in Cuba.

I therefore wish to place on record our profound gratitude to the Government and people of the Republic of Cuba for its ongoing contribution to the development of Grenada’s human resource capacity.

At the same time, complementing this is the Adult Literacy programme “Yes I Can” another vital area of cooperation which has assisted scores of nationals.

“Yes, I Can” will be entering its second phase here in Grenada and the programme will get an additional boost with the provision of technical assistance by the Government of Cuba in the preparation of the syllabus.

Indeed, “yes I can” has left a positive mark in Grenada, raising the literacy levels of numerous Grenadians, increasing their levels of competence and their reading and writing skills. 

Such a move augurs well to keeping Grenada on target towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and is in keeping with the Government’s policy of raising the general standard of education by ensuring that education is accessible to all Grenadians.

I am happy to mention that the Miracle Eye programme will return soon to provide follow up care to old patients and to examine new cases.

 Indeed Grenadians continue to benefit from the presence of the Cuban medical personnel on the island particularly the nurses and doctors. I wish to note an important visit by the team of Cuban Oncologists which saw 55 women receiving combination chemotherapy.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In the field of Agriculture, a priority to the Government of Grenada, our young Grenadians will benefit from training in general forestry to enable best practices while ensuring conservation and maintaining existent biodiversity, while the Irrigation Management Unit will continue to receive assistance in irrigation systems design and training of farmers and officers of the Ministry of Agriculture and irrigation extension services.

Indeed in the face of enormous economic challenges particularly after the devastation caused by the recent hurricanes, I applaud the resilience of the Cuban people and their ability to continue to reach out to the peoples of the globe.

I wish to reiterate, that the Government and people of Grenada will continue to render their support to Cuba at the United Nations and other international fora;  we will continue to call for the ending of the harsh and unjust economic and financial embargo and  will continue to work towards ensuring that the relations between Grenada and the Republic of Cuba are strengthened in the future.

I certainly want to congratulate the officials from both delegations for the preparation for and the execution of this important event.

I hope that all the areas of technical assistance promised by Cuba would be fulfilled in a timely manner.

I want to wish the Cuban delegation a safe flight to their next destination and ultimately back to Cuba.

I thank you.

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