Radio Havana Cuba, 24 november 1999 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit CUBANEWS FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org http://www.radiohc.org These are the top stories of Radio Havana Cuba for this Wednesday November 24, 1999. 1.- CUBAN VICE PRESIDENT CARLOS LAGE HEADS FOR SANTO DOMINGO AND THE SECOND SUMMIT OF THE ACP -- THE AFRICA, CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC GROUP 2.- BRITISH BUSINESS MISSION WRAPS UP VISIT TO CUBA 3.- INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AGAINST EXTRATERRITORIAL LAWS BEGINS IN HAVANA 4.- INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON THE USE OF LASER IN MEDICINE AND SURGERY BEGINS IN HAVANA 5.- CUBA-MEXICO BUSINESS COMMITTEE BEGINS SESSIONS IN HAVANA 6.- INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CUBAN CULTURE BEGINS IN HAVANA CUBAN VICE PRESIDENT CARLOS LAGE HEADS FOR SANTO DOMINGO AND THE SECOND SUMMIT OF THE ACP -- THE AFRICA, CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC GROUP Havana, November 24(RHC)-- Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage left today for the Dominican Republic, where he will take part in the Second Summit of Heads of State and Governments of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group, the ACP. Lage will head the Cuban delegation that will attend the meeting as an observer. The leaders of the 71 member-nations will meet in Santo Domingo tomorrow and Friday. Among the items on the agenda for the upcoming meeting will be the renewal of the Lome Convention -- an agreement on preferential trade and cooperation with the European Union. The countries making up the ACP -- former European colonies of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific -- will also discuss a common position to take to the ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization, scheduled for next week in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. According to observers, the leaders of Third World nations meeting in Santo Domingo will request at least another ten years of preferential treatment in order to allow the poorer countries to close the gap -- at least a little -- on the industrialized, developed nations. The Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Group is composed of 48 African countries, 15 nations of the Caribbean and eight of the Pacific. Cuba has observer status in the ACP. BRITISH BUSINESS MISSION WRAPS UP VISIT TO CUBA Havana, November 24(RHC)-- A British business mission, headed by the Vice President of the British company Trade International, Sir Martin Laing, wrapped up a visit to Cuba on Wednesday. The aim of the visit was to explore investment opportunities on the Caribbean island. During their five-day stay in Cuba, Sir Martin Laing and the delegation accompanying him, made up of ten business executives from the tourism sector, met with Cuban Minister for Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, Marta Lomas as well as with top officials from the island's ministries of tourism and transportation. The delegation also visited the world famous Partagas tobacco factory and Old Havana's historical areas. Speaking with journalists shortly before leaving Havana, the vice President of Trade International expressed Britain's interest in expanding economic and trade relations with Cuba, especially in the tourism sector. Sir Martin Laing pointed to the excellent political relations between Cuba and Britain and stressed that this is a good time to strengthen bilateral exchange between both nations. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AGAINST EXTRATERRITORIAL LAWS BEGINS IN HAVANA Havana, November 24(RHC)-- An International Conference against Extraterritorial Laws began Wednesday in Cuba's Foreign Ministry in Havana. Sponsored by the Cuban Movement for Peace and Sovereignty, the event gathers together delegates from some 15 nations around the world. Participants will denounce the effects of extraterritorial policies, which damage nations' rights to self-determination and violates international law through the imposition of unilateral economic as well as financial blockades. The encounter's agenda includes work sessions, round tables, lectures and a plenary session to approve agreements coming out of the three-day meeting. INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON THE USE OF LASER IN MEDICINE AND SURGERY BEGINS IN HAVANA Havana, November 24(RHC)-- An International Convention on the use of laser in medicine and surgery began Wednesday at Havana's International Convention Center. Sponsored by Havana's Surgical and Medical Research Center, the convention comprises the XIII Congress of the International Society on the use of Laser in Medicine and Surgery, as well as the 9th Ibero-American Congress and the Third Latin American Encounter in the field. The event, which runs through Friday, gathers doctors, physicians and dentists, as well as bio-engineers and other medical specialists from some 30 nations. CUBA-MEXICO BUSINESS COMMITTEE BEGINS SESSIONS IN HAVANA Havana, November 24(RHC)-- The 14th session of the Cuba-Mexico Business Committee opened Wednesday at Havana's Hotel Nacional . For four days, Mexican business executives, representing some 20 firms meet with their Cuban counterparts from sectors such as telecommunications, tourism, petrochemicals, as well as the textile and food industries. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CUBAN CULTURE BEGINS IN HAVANA Havana, November 24(RHC)-- An international conference on Cuban culture entitled: Fernando Ortiz, Culture Syncretism, Vanguard and Cultural Diversity, opened its sessions Wednesday at Havana's Ruben Martinez Villena public library. Sponsored by Havana's Fernando Ortiz Foundation, the conference focuses on cultural diversity and exchange and on the life and work of the renowned Cuban culture expert. On hand for the important event, which runs through Saturday, are Cuban essayists Ambrosio Fornet, Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria and Eliades Acosta, as well as philosopher Miguel Limia, Historian Carmen Almodovar and Cuban writer and President of the Fernando Ortiz Foundation, Miguel Barnet. During the inaugural session, participants discussed the historical and social context of Cuban traditions. THIS IS RADIO HAVANA CUBA'S VIEWPOINT FOR WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 24, 1999. The human race will welcome the 21st century in a planet plagued by differences. While economic power is in the hands of a small group of countries led by the biggest economic, political and military power that has ever existed, the others have nothing else but necessities and dissatisfaction. As a consequence, most of the planet's nations have begun to join among them in order to strengthen their positions and protect their interests, which are the interests of 90% of the world's population. Out of the 6 billion inhabitants of our planet, 4 billion live in the so-called Third World. What's more, among the Third World countries themselves, there are differences. Some nations have higher levels of development than others in which large numbers of people live in the most abject poverty and ignorance, as in Africa, Asia and Latin America. However, the situation in all Third World countries is far from being similar to that of the so-called First World. The formation of economic groups is a solution for those underdeveloped nations. That is the case of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Group, or ACP group, whose second summit meeting will be held in the Dominican Republic. The goal is to reach a better economic agreement with the European Union, today's main competitor for the hegemonic power of the United States. The huge North American power has also managed to make economic alliances in order to divide the Third World. That is the case of the North American Free Trade Agreement, - NAFTA-, and the projected Free Trade Association of the Americas or ALCA. Cuba has been accepted in the ACP group as an observer and will participate in the summit in the Dominican Republic with a delegation headed by Cuban Vice-President Carlos Lage. The island already has good relations with some European countries, including Spain in first place. And, even though Europe is much farther from Cuba than North America, distance will be no obstacle if equity and mutual respect prevails. [c] 1999, Radio Habana Cuba All rights reserved Articles cannot be reproduced, reprinted or published in any system without the consent of RHC. This prohibition includes the distribution of this material via Usenet News, "bulletin board" services, e-mail lists, print media, radio and television. For the complete RADIO HAVANA CUBA NEWSCAST and other features, please write for our daily broadcast schedule. 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