National Day Message by H. E. Mrs. Caridad Yamira Cueto Milián, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cuba to the Republic of Bulgaria

Dear friends of Cuba,

January 1 marks the National Day of Cuba, which is known also as the Day of the Triumph of the Cuban Revolution of 1959. On that day, Cuba proclaimed its total independence after more than one hundred years of struggle against occupation and foreign domination.

In 2023 Cuba celebrates the 64th anniversary of a historical event that changed forever the destiny of the Cuban people. Sixty-tree years have passed. In this historical cycle, the ability of the Cuban people and its leaders to raise the banners of freedom, independence, sovereignty, unity and integration of Latin America, democracy, socialism and solidarity has been fully ratified.

Cuba lives! And the key to our victory has been and continues to be the unity of the Cuban people. Unity is our main conquest and bulwark, which is also nourished by the commitment to strengthen ties with the Cuban community residing abroad.

The year 2022 was a very difficult year. Cuba faced exceptional challenges to its economy and continued to deal with a permanent pandemic and a constant hurricane: the cruel and obsolete economic, financial and commercial blockade imposed more than 60 years ago by the United States of America against Cuba; a policy that continues to be the main obstacle to the full economic development of our country.

The Cuban people faced the COVID-19 pandemic with discipline and optimism, and we are proud of having fully developed and produced in our country five vaccine candidates, even under the severe conditions imposed by the blockade. We made progress in the process of updating the Cuban economic model, aware of our moral obligation and historical commitment to efficiently build, counting on the valuable human potential developed by the Revolution, a more prosperous, just and sustainable society, in which no Cuban is left helpless.

Cuba ratifies the will to continue developing its international relations, to promote peace, to foster the promotion and respect of human rights, to contribute to the preservation of the environment, to develop trade and economic relations with Latin America and with other regions of the world.

Cuba reaffirms its humanist vocation and its solidarity action, with moral, ethical and political commitment. At the beginning of this year 2023, more than 23,792 Cuban collaborators from the Health sector provide services in 56 countries of the world. In 59 years of Cuban internationalist medical collaboration, more than 2 billion patients in the world have been treated by Cuban medical personnel.

In the spirit of the traditional friendly relations between the peoples of Cuba and Bulgaria, based on mutual respect, on October 14, 2022 we celebrated the 62nd Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between our two countries. We continue to strengthen the bilateral political dialogue and deepen the exchanges in international organizations and multilateral forums. Bilateral trade and economic ties are expanding, relations in the educational, scientific and cultural spheres are regaining dynamism, and we continue to disseminate the rich cultural heritage of our respective peoples.

Sport connects and defines Cuba and Bulgaria as two countries with a long and rich history of bilateral cooperation in this sphere.

The Cuban medicine continues to open avenues for successful cooperation between Bulgarian and Cuban institutions.

Cuba continues to be a safe destination for thousands of Bulgarian citizens who travel attracted by the natural beauty and history of our country, but above all by the hospitality and joy of the Cuban people.

We avail of this opportunity to congratulate all Cuban residents in Bulgaria and their families.

Let the cordial greetings of the Embassy of Cuba in Sofia reach all the friends of Cuba in this country, and especially the Bulgaria-Cuba Friendship Association, for its defense of the values ​​of friendship and solidarity between our peoples.

Happy 2023! Health, Peace, Success and Prosperity!

The photo is provided by the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba to the Republic of Bulgaria. On it: H. E. Mrs. Caridad Yamira Cueto Milián, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba in the Republic of Bulgaria