Díaz-Canel: It is
necessary to dismantle, now, the international barriers that have obstructed
access by the developing countries
Speech by the
President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, at the inaugural
session of the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Group of 77 and
China on the current challenges of development: the role of science, technology
and innovation
September 15, 2023 Author: Cubaminrex | internet@granma.cu
Your excellencies,
Distinguished delegates and guests,
The warmest of welcomes to Cuba, the land of José Martí, to whom we owe the
beautiful idea that Homeland is Mankind.
Thank
you for accepting an invitation that brings us together today to defend the
future of the vast majorities that form the bulk of that great and unifying
concept: mankind.
As
announced by our foreign minister on the eve of the present event, this is an
austere summit; I hope you will forgive any shortcomings you may encounter.
Cuba is literally besieged by a six-decade blockade and beset by all the
problems that go with that siege, which has recently been intensified.
We are
also faced, of course, with the immense challenges generated by the prevailing
unjust international order; but we are not alone. It was almost 60 years ago
that our common difficulties and the hope that together we could face them and
prevail, generated the idea that led to the formation of this group. We are the
Group of 77 and China. And we are more.
As you
will realize in the coming days, we lack a lot of things, but we’re not short
of feelings: of friendship, of solidarity, of humanity. Neither are we lacking
in the will to make you feel welcome. Here, you are at home.
You
can also be sure that we will do everything to ensure that our deliberations
lead to tangible results, in the climate of solidarity and cooperation that
underpins the success of any collective endeavor.
The
Group of 77 and China has the huge responsibility of representing, in the
international arena, the interests of the majority of the world’s nations. For
reasons of history and identity we have kept the original name, but we are a
lot more than 77 countries. Today we’re 134, equating to over two-thirds of the
UN member states and accounting for 80% of the world population.
Meeting
at summit level gives us the opportunity to deliberate collectively and at the
highest political level, to pool efforts in defense of interests of that
majority. It helps us find common positions on the current challenges to
development and the wellbeing of our peoples. But it also poses us
interrogatives.
Following
almost 60 years of diplomatic battles, in the difficult and thus far fruitless
attempt to reform the unjust, anachronistic rules that govern international
economic relations, it behooves us to remember the calls of our historic
leaders to democratize the UN; Fidel Castro’s warnings that “tomorrow will be
too late” and an unforgettable remark by Comandante Hugo Chávez: “We presidents
go from summit to summit, and the peoples go from abyss to abyss”
Chavéz
called for truly useful meetings, which could produce concrete benefits for the
peoples waiting for solutions beside the abyss we have been consigned to by the
egoism of those who, for centuries, have been cutting the cake and leaving us
the crumbs.
This
summit is taking place at a time when mankind has achieved a level of
scientific/technical progress unimaginable a couple of decades ago, conferring
an incredible capacity for generating wealth and well-being which, in times of
greater equality, equity and justice, could ensure decent, comfortable and
sustainable living standards for practically every inhabitant of this planet.
If we
color the space occupied by the Group of 77 and China on a world map, we see
two strengths which no-one beats: we are the largest, and the most diverse. The
South also exists, in the lines of the Uruguayan poet Mario Benedetti.
Considering the length of time during which the North has adapted the world to
suit its interests, at everyone else’s expense, the moment has arrived for the
South to change the rules of the game.
“It’s
the hour of the furnaces, in which all there is to see is light”, José Martí
would say. With the rights we - the vast majority of the Group of 77 members -
acquire by being the primary victims of the world’s present multidimensional
crisis; of the cyclical imbalances in international trade and finance; of the
abusive, unequal exchange; of the science, technology and knowledge gap; of the
danger stemming from progressive destruction and exhaustion of the natural
resources on which life on earth depends, we demand realization now of the
overdue democratization of the system of international relations.
It is
the countries of the South which suffer most from poverty, hunger, indigence,
deaths from curable diseases, illiteracy, human displacement, and other effects
of underdevelopment. Many of our nations are labeled poor whereas they should
properly be referred to as pauperized. The need is to rectify a situation which
centuries of colonial and neocolonial dependence have left us in: it is unjust
and the South can no longer bear the deadweight of all the problems.
Those
who built shining cities with the resources, sweat and blood of the nations of
the South are already suffering and will go on suffering the impacts of the
economic and social imbalances that favored the plunder, because we’re all in
the same boat - although some are ‘first class’ and others their servants.
The only
safe route, to ensure that this world ship doesn’t meet the same fate as the
Titanic, is that of cooperation, solidarity, the African Ubuntu philosophy,
which sees human progress as without exclusions, where one person’s pain and
hope is the pain and hope of everyone.
Your excellencies:
We
have proposed as this summit’s theme the role of science, technology and
innovation as essential components of the political debate associated with law.
We do
so in the conviction that the achievements and advances in this field are those
that will finally reveal whether and when it will be possible to fulfill the
ideal sustainable development goals, relating to: ending poverty; zero world
hunger; health and well-being; high-quality education; gender equality; clean
water and sanitation; solution of the problems of energy, employment, economic
growth, industrialization and social justice.
I am
totally convinced that, likewise, it will not be possible to progress towards a
sustainable way of life, in harmony with the natural conditions that support
life on the planet, without these premises.
And it
is obvious that the transformation needed for reaching these goals implies, in
one form or another, the role of knowledge as a driver of science, technology
and innovation.
It is
necessary to dismantle, now, the international barriers that have obstructed
access by the developing countries and the use by these of such critical
factors for economic and social progress.
I’m
referring to barriers closely associated with an unjust and unsustainable
international economic order that perpetuates conditions of privilege for the
developed countries and condemns most of mankind to underdevelopment.
If
these issues are not addressed, it will not be possible to reach the sustainable
development to which we are all entitled, however many goals we set ourselves.
Neither
will it be possible to narrow the yawning gap between the living standards of
the privileged few and the underdevelopment marking the conditions endured by
the vast majority.
We
will have no prospect of a world of peace, in which wars and all other kinds of
armed conflict disappear.
Science,
technology and innovation play a key role in fostering productivity,
efficiency, the creation of value added, the humanization of working
conditions, promotion of well-being and the guarantee of human development.
We are
seeing the greatest scientific/technological revolution in human history.
Science has changed the very course of life. Man has been able to know sidereal
space and develop sophisticated machines that automate even the most basic
processes associated with our existence.
The
internet has broken through the limits of time and space; technological
development has enabled a connected world and reduced distances of thousands of
miles to a click. It has multiplied the capacities of teaching and learning,
speeded up research and endowed man with unsuspected abilities for improving
our standard of living.
But
these possibilities are not within the reach of everyone.
In
this context, UNIDO has stressed that the creation and dissemination of
advanced digital production (ADP) technologies worldwide remain concentrated,
with minor activity in most of the emerging economies. Just 10 economies -
spearheading ADP technologies - account for 90% of all the patents globally and
70% of the total exports directly related to these.
Far
from becoming tools for closing the development gap and helping overcome the
injustices that overshadow mankind’s very future, they tend to be weaponized
for use in widening the gap, sapping the will of many of our governments and
protecting the system of exploitation and plunder that for centuries fed the
wealth of the old colonial powers and condemned our nations to a subordinate
role.
That
explains why, in the midst of the most tremendous scientific/technical advance
of all time, the world has regressed three decades as regards reducing extreme
poverty, with levels of hunger not witnessed since 2005.
It
explains why, in the so-called Third World, over 84 million children are
without schooling and over 660 million have no electricity; why only 36% of the
population use the internet in the least advanced countries and the landlocked
developing nations, compared with 92% in the industrialized world.
Note
that the average cost of a smartphone represents 2% of monthly income per head
in America, while the corresponding statistic in South Asia is 53% and in
sub-Saharan Africa 39%. It is impossible to speak of technological advance or
fair access to communications in these circumstances.
The
energy transition is also taking place in conditions of extreme inequality,
which seeks to perpetuate itself. The disproportion in energy consumption
between the developed countries (167.9 GJ per person per annum) and the
developing world (56.2 GJ) results from the existing economic and social divide
and also ensures that the gap goes on widening. Electricity consumption in the
OECD countries exceeds the world average 2.38 times and that of sub-Saharan
Africa 16 times.
Many
of the diseases that are more prevalent in the developing countries are
preventable or at least treatable. The WHO in its report on the world’s state
of health estimates that every year 8 million people die prematurely from
curable diseases and conditions. These deaths represent around one-third of
annual worldwide mortality. Average spending on public health per capita in the
Western countries is estimated at $947 compared with $20 in the low-income
nations.
We
have a duty to try to change the rules of the game; we will succeed only by
mobilizing joint action.
All or
nearly all of us are trying to attract direct foreign investment as a necessary
component of our development and the management of our economies. We sometimes
succeed in arranging for this to be accompanied by technology transfer.
But we
know that more often than not there is no transfer of knowledge or help with
capacity building. This lack means that the developing countries find
themselves at the lowest levels in the global value chains, while their
research in health, food, the environment and other fields is very limited or
deficient in systematic devaluation.
This
phenomenon accompanies the emigration of talent commonly referred to as the
“brain drain”: the practice of the most developed countries to poach the
preparation and knowledge of professionals trained with much effort by the
developing nations, generally entirely without support by the richest
countries.
This
is a massive drain and a significant financial contribution by developing
countries to the rich ones, much greater, by the way, than official development
assistance, as a result of a migratory flow that is devastating for the
underdeveloped world.
Another
reality is the tendency to patent everything, including life forms, as promoted
by the World Trade Organization. This is a practice that swells the
coffers of large transnational corporations in the most powerful countries and
makes the remaining economies more fragile. Thus, the rampant process of
privatization of knowledge contributes to widening the gap and limits access to
development.
Patents
are part of a neoliberal theology, according to which knowledge can be
privatized, bought and sold like any other commodity.
There
is pressure on developing countries to introduce laws to protect intellectual
property rights, while conveniently forgetting that many industrialized
countries developed precisely by pirating products and technology outside their
geographic borders, particularly in today's developing countries.
Patent
applications continued to increase, even in the midst of the pandemic in 2020
(up by 1.5%) and jumped in 2021 (3.6% growth). Health-related technologies
continued to record the fastest growth among all sectors. During 2021,
trademark applications reached 3.4 million globally (up 5.5% on 2020). However,
it was uneven by region: Asia received two-thirds (67.6%) of all applications
filed, driven mainly by growth in China; North America 18.5%, Europe 10.5%; the
lowest percentages of total applications were those of Africa (0.6%), Latin
America and the Caribbean (1.6%) and Oceania (0.6%).
The
gender gap in innovation persists. The numbers engaged in research increased at
a rate three times faster (13.7%) than the growth of the world population
(4.6%) between 2014 and 2018. In 2018, the number of researchers reached 8.854
million. However, only one third of researchers are women. According to the
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) men still represent the large
majority of those associated with patented inventions in the world. In 2021,
only 17% of the persons designated as inventors in international patent
applications were women.
The
privatization of knowledge places limits on the circulation and recombination
of knowledge. It poses limitations to progress and to scientific solutions to
problems. It represents a significant barrier to development and the role that
science, technology and innovation should play in it. It exacerbates the
socioeconomic conditions of Third World countries.
Suffice
it to say that in the midst of the greatest pandemic humanity has ever known,
just ten manufacturers accounted for 70% of anti COVID-19 vaccine
production.[9] The pandemic was a starkly realistic illustration of the cost of
scientific and digital exclusion, which took lives and widened the gap between
North and South.
As a
result, developing countries had only 24 doses of vaccines per 100 inhabitants,
while the corresponding number for the richest countries was almost 150. In
response to the call for greater solidarity and put aside disagreements, the
world ended up being, absurdly, more selfish.
The
World Health Organization has formulated the well-known 90/10 syndrome,
according to which 90% of health research resources are devoted to diseases
that cause 10% of mortality and morbidity, while those that cause 90% of
mortality and morbidity receive only 10% of the resources available.
In the
aftermath of the pandemic, our countries have had to endure extraordinarily
complex conditions, which they are still fighting hard to overcome.
In
tapping financial markets, the nations of the South have faced interest rates
up to 8 times higher than those charged to developed countries. About one-fifth
of developing economies liquidated more than 15% of their international foreign
exchange reserves to cushion the pressure on domestic currencies.
In
2022, 25 developing nations had to devote more than one-fifth of their total
income to servicing public external debt, which is tantamount to a new form of
slavery.
Between
2014 and 2018, global spending on research and development (R&D), increased
by 19.2%, outpacing the growth of the global economy (14.6%). However, it
remains highly concentrated, as 93% is arises in the G20 countries.
The
resources needed for a comprehensive solution to these problems do exist.
In 2022 alone, global military spending reached a record $2,24 trillion, that
is millions of millions of dollars. How much could be done with these resources
for the benefit of the South?
Achieving
universal and inclusive participation in the digital economy will require at
least $428 billion to be invested in our countries by 2030, a demand that can
be met with just 19% of global military spending.
However,
the South seems destined to live on the crumbs that the current system has reserved
for it. The International Monetary Fund's financial support for the least
developed countries and other low-income countries, from 2020 to late November
2022, was no more than what the Coca Cola Company has spent on advertising its
brand alone in the last 8 years.
Meanwhile,
less than 2% of the already deficient Official Development Assistance has been
dedicated to capacities in science, technology and innovation.
Estimates
indicate that 9% of global military spending could finance climate change adaptation
over 10 years (proposed by the "Global Commission on Adaptation") and
7% would be sufficient to cover the cost of universal vaccination against
COVID-19.
An
international financial architecture that perpetuates such disparities and
forces the South to tie up financial resources and go into debt to protect
itself from the instability that the system itself generates; that enlarges the
pockets of the rich at the expense of the reserves of the poorest 80%[23] is,
without a doubt, an architecture that is inimical to the progress of our
nations. It must be demolished if we really want to work for the development of
the great mass of nations gathered here.
Your
excellencies,
It
must be a priority to abolish once and for all the research paradigms that are specific
to the cultural environments and perspectives of the North, and that deprive
the international scientific community of considerable intellectual capital.
This
trend poses a premise for our nations: the urgency of restoring confidence in
the most dynamic element of our societies: the human being and his/her creative
activity.
In
this endeavor, capacity building is key to fulfilling the promise of science,
technology and innovation for sustainable development.
We
recognize, in this regard, the merit of the Global Development Initiative,
promoted by the President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping. It is
an inclusive proposal, consistent with the need for a new, just and equitable
international order, which rightfully places knowledge-based development at the
center of the priorities of the international system.
Even
though Cuba is a developing country burdened by great economic difficulties, it
has scientific capabilities that should not be underestimated and that are part
of the legacy of the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro,
who, with foresight, identified this field as a mainspring of development.
We
have a government management system based on science and innovation, which has
become an important strength for the preservation of our sovereignty, the best
expression of which was the creation of our own vaccines against COVID-19.
However,
for Cuba, linking knowledge to the solution of development problems is a
titanic task, since such efforts are to be made in the midst of an entrenched
economic, commercial and financial blockade that translates into significant
resource limitations.
To
name but one example, by political decision of the U.S. government, many
websites related to knowledge and science are specifically blocked for Cuban
researchers.
This
is not the occasion for me to dwell on the impact that the criminal US economic
blockade has on our economy, our scientific-technical progress and our
development, with an obvious humanitarian cost.
However,
I must identify it as a major obstacle, despite which - due to our strong
political will - Cuba has been able to achieve indisputable results in science
and innovation.
I
invite you to discuss during these days the challenges to our nations of
development, the injustices that exclude us from global progress, but also the
value of our unity and our rich store of knowledge.
Let us
focus our reflections on the pursuit of consensus, strategies, tactics and ways
of coordination. Let us put on the table all our assets, let us maximize
synergies. Let us show the value and expertise of the South to those who seek
to present us as an amorphous mass seeking charity or handouts.
Let us
remember that many of the unique nations represented by the G-77 and China
wrote impressive pages of creativity and heroism in human history before
colonization and plunder impoverished the destinies of a number of them.
Let us
recover that fighting spirit, traditional knowledge, creative thinking and
collective wisdom. Let us fight for our right to development, which is
also the right to exist as a species.
Only
then will we be in a position to participate in the scientific-technical
revolution on an equal footing. Only then will we be able to occupy the place
that is rightfully ours in this world in which they try to relegate us to the
condition of meek contributors of wealth to minorities. Let us fulfill
together the honorable mission of integrating and improving this world, making
it fairer and more rational, without the permanent threat of extinction
overshadowing our dreams.
Excellencies,
Twenty-three years ago, at a meeting like this one, the historical leader of
the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro asserted and I quote:
“As
for the Group of 77, this is not the time for begging from the developed
countries or for submission, defeatism or internecine divisions. This is the
time to rescue back our fighting spirit, our unity and cohesion in defending
our demands.
“Fifty
years ago we were promised that one day there would no longer be a gap between
developed and underdeveloped countries. We were promised bread and justice; but
today we have less and less bread and more injustice.” End of quote.
The
topicality of those words can be construed as a defeat, in terms of what this
Group aimed for and failed to achieve. I ask you to take it as a
confirmation of the long road we have traveled together and of all the rights
we have to demand the overdue changes.
In
tribute to those who believed and laid the foundations; in the name of the
people we represent, let us see that their voices and demands are respected.
There
are more of us. And we shall triumph.
Thank you.
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