CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA November 11 , 1997 rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org The following items are taking from Radio Havana Cuba's news service for Tuesday, November 11, 1997. Today's stories: 1.- CUBA BRINGS FOREIGN DEBT ISSUE TO 29TH CONFERENCE OF UN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION IN ROME, ITALY 2.- CUBAN PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT RICARDO ALARCON POINTS TO FAILURE OF EFFORTS TO ISOLATE CUBA DURING IBEROAMERICAN SUMMIT 3.- CUBAN FRIENDSHIP INSTITUTE RECOGNIZES ANGOLAN LEADERS ON THE OCCASION OF THE 22ND ANNIVERSARY OF ANGOLA'S INDEPENDENCE 4.- SUGAR SPECIALISTS GATHER FOR THEIR 47TH CONGRESS 5.- PAHO AND WHO EXPERTS MEET IN HAVANA TO EVALUATE ASSISTANCE TO CUBA 6.- MORE THAN 110 LATIN AMERICAN LAWMAKERS TO CONVERGE ON HAVANA THIS WEEK FOR PARLATINO MEETING 7.- ITALIAN AND SPANISH FIRM SIGN ACCORDS WITH CUBAN ENTERPRISES 8.- FOURTH INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON URBAN MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING GETS UNDERWAY IN HAVANA 9.- HIGH RANKING INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR BASEBALL OFFICIAL VISITS CUBA CUBA BRINGS FOREIGN DEBT ISSUE TO 29TH CONFERENCE OF UN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION IN ROME, ITALY Havana, November 11(RHC)-- At the 29th conference of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, underway in Rome, Italy, Cuba has brought the foreign debt to the center stage of debates. Cuban Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation Minister Ibrahim Ferradaz reminded the 175 member nations of the FAO that there has been no solution to the burden of the foreign debt on developing countries. He said that in 1992, 10 years after the foreign debt crisis became one of the major issues in the international media, the western press began sighing with relief because -- in its opinion -- an international financial crisis had been avoided. But the Cuban minister asserted that a disaster was avoided for international banking interests at the expense of even further sacrifices for Third World peoples. Between 1985 and 1995, said Ferradaz, the Third World's foreign debt increased each year by 5 percent. And each year, he said, the developing world pays 125 billion dollars just in debt interest payments -- almost double the 69 billion dollars received by the Third World in development aid in 1966. The Cuban official also recalled that those 69 billion dollars in aid represented a new low, as the rich nations continue to increasingly put more distance between themselves and their commitment to earmark 0.7 of their gross national products to development aid. In reference to the principal theme at the FAO gathering -- food insecurity -- the Cuban Minister of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation charged that the Helms-Burton Law and Washington's recent biological aggression against Cuba have aggravated the variety and quantity of Cuba food crops. Ferradaz wound up by recalling the words of Cuban President Fidel Castro during the First World Food Summit, held in the Italian capital in November of last year. The Cuban leader said that today the bells toll for those who daily die of hunger. Tomorrow, they will toll for all of humanity if we did not want to, did not know how to or did not have sufficient wisdom to save ourselves. CUBAN PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT RICARDO ALARCON POINTS TO FAILURE OF EFFORTS TO ISOLATE CUBA DURING IBEROAMERICAN SUMMIT Havana, November 11(RHC)-- Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon highlighted today the failure of what he called Washington's emissaries to isolate Cuba at last weekend's Iberoamerican Summit. In an interview today with the local Radio Rebelde, Alarcon said among the most important results for Cuba during the Summit was the Iberoamerican reiteration of its condemnation of Washington's blockade, and the refusal to question Cuba's right to host the 1999 edition of the Summit. The Cuban official recalled that of all the nations present at the Summit, only Nicaragua and El Salvador didn't vote in favor of Cuba's anti- blockade resolution at the UN General Assembly, choosing instead to abstain. He said that Nicaragua and El Salvador, according to international news agencies, were the 2 countries who took up Washington's anti-Cuba banner at the Summit, but that they nevertheless didn't have the courage to try to make of Cuba a controversial issue at the gathering. Alarcon said they merely limited themselves to give the media the impression that they had carried out their mission and had therefore earned the salary paid by their employers. CUBAN FRIENDSHIP INSTITUTE RECOGNIZES ANGOLAN LEADERS ON THE OCCASION OF THE 22ND ANNIVERSARY OF ANGOLA'S INDEPENDENCE Luanda, November 11(RHC)-- The Speaker of the Angolan Parliament, Roberto de Almeida, and two other Angolan political leaders have received the Friendship Medal, awarded by the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples -ICAP. In a ceremony held Monday in Luanda, the Angolan capital, Joana Lina Ramons, Minister of Women's Affairs and Severino de Morais, Vice minister of Finances also received the recognition, presented by Cuban Ambassador in Angola, Julio Garcia. Expressing his appreciation for the award, which comes on the occasion of the 22nd anniversary of Angola's independence , Parliament Speaker, Roberto de Almeida, stressed that the holiday also belongs to Cuba, since Cuban bothers and sisters, he said, shed their blood for the attainment of the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity. According to Prensa Latina news agency, Almeida will travel to Havana in December on the official invitation of his Cuban counterpart, Ricardo Alarcon. SUGAR SPECIALISTS GATHER FOR THEIR 47TH CONGRESS Havana, November 11(RHC)-- The Cuban Association of Sugar Specialists is holding its 47th congress as the island gears up for the 97-98 sugar harvest. More than 500 Cuban specialists and guests from 20 sugar producing countries are on hand for the event which opened in Havana's International Conference Center on Tuesday. During the 3-day event, participants will focus on the problems that have plagued the island's prime industry, and the country's real possibilities to overcome the difficulties. Sustainable and ecologically sound agricultural methods, nitrogen fixation in sugar plantation soil, the use of the industry's liquid residuals in the irrigation of sugar cane plantations and the production of organic fertilizers are some of the topics on the event's agenda. PAHO AND WHO EXPERTS MEET IN HAVANA TO EVALUATE ASSISTANCE TO CUBA Havana, November 11(RHC)-- Specialists from the Panamerican Health and the World Health organizations are meeting in Havana to evaluate cooperation of those international institutions with Cuba's health care system. The meeting, which will focus on cooperation over the next two years, is being presided over by Doctor David Bennet, of PAHO headquarters in Washington DC. and will run until Thursday. MORE THAN 110 LATIN AMERICAN LAWMAKERS TO CONVERGE ON HAVANA THIS WEEK FOR PARLATINO MEETING Havana, November 11(RHC)-- The Cuban National Parliament says the upcoming Havana meeting of permanent commissions of the Latin American Parliament is a message of unity and regional integration. The Chair of the Cuban Parliament's International Relations Permanent Commission, Jorge Lescano, told a Havana press conference Monday that 118 lawmakers from 13 countries have confirmed their participation in the event, slated to begin Thursday. This is the first time that so many permanent commissions gather in a single meeting. Lawmakers, will participate in the discussions of permanent commissions on political affairs, tourism, energy and mines, youth, labor affairs, health and the commission on emerging economies. Lescano said that some of the issues to be discussed include stability and the evolution of democratic regimes, processes of integration versus arms race processes. All these topics are covered by the political affairs commission. The Cuban official also recalled that the Commission on tourism decided to meet in Cuba, as an expression of solidarity following the recent bombings of several tourist facilities on the island. ITALIAN AND SPANISH FIRM SIGN ACCORDS WITH CUBAN ENTERPRISES Havana, November 11(RHC)-- Spanish and Italian firms that participated in the recently concluded Havana International Trade Fair, have penned accords with Cuban enterprises. The Italian Firm United Products and Cuba's Puntext have agreed to create an economic association for garment production. The deal will put back into operation one of the island's garment plants that has been idled by the island's economic crunch. A Spanish Firm from the Principality of Asturias, Penasanta SA, one of the Spanish peninsula's most important dairy companies, will be opening a plant in Cuba. FOURTH INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON URBAN MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING GETS UNDERWAY IN HAVANA Havana, November 11(RHC)-- Some 120 Cuban and Foreign city planners are gathered in Havana for the Fourth International Seminar on Urban Management and Planning sponsored by Havana's Provincial government and the Union of Iberoamerican capitals. Topping the agenda: the inclusion of Free Zones and Industrial parks in city planning strategies and their impact on the environment; and urban management at the municipal level. On Tuesday, the event's second day, the international gathering addressed the impact of Free Zones on urban areas, using as an example one of the three recently opened free zones in Havana. But Cuba city planners stressed that renovating run down housing is also as much a priority as is new construction. The director of Havana's Provincial Urban Planning and Architecture Office, Jorge Caslor Diez Betancourt, noted that though renovation efforts depend largely on the country's economic recovery, there are good prospects for the near future. With the participation of representatives from Spain, Italy, Peru and Mexico, the 4th International Seminar of City Planning that got started on Monday runs through Wednesday. HIGH RANKING INTERNATIONAL AMATEUR BASEBALL OFFICIAL VISITS CUBA Havana, November 11(RHC)-- The president of the International Amateur Baseball Association, Italian Aldo Notari is in Havana for an official visit. During his stay in Cuba, Notari is to meet with several sports and baseball officials. Top on his agenda is a meeting with the first deputy president of the association on the island, Reynaldo Gonzalez. The get-together will center on bilateral protocols between Cuba and Italy regarding baseball, and also on preparations for the world tournament, set for Italy next year. Speaking to the cuban press, Notari declined to comment on the December meeting between the International Olympic Committee and officials from the major leagues from the United States and maybe Japan. He explained such dialogue was formulated by Gilbert Felli, IOC sports director and he is not fully aware of the topics to be discussed during the meeting. Meanwhile, the vicepresident of the International Cycling Union Agustino Omini is also on an official visit to Cuba. Among his objectives on the island is to analyze the organization of the world junior track cycling championship, set for Cuba next July. 40 countries are expected to participate. [c] 1997. Radio Habana Cuba All rights reserved Articles cannot be reproduced, reprinted or published in any system without the consent of RHC. 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