APRIL 9, 1999
HAVANA, April 8 (Reuters) - Cuba's Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina, looking ahead to a Havana summit of Ibero-American leaders in November, urged participating nations on Thursday to put aside differences to confront global problems together.
Opening a preparatory meeting for the upcoming Ibero-American summit on November 15-16 in communist-ruled Cuba, Robaina said the world was being shaken by financial woes and war in Europe.
``Today, no single country, not even the richest and most powerful, can solve by itself the grave problems of humanity,'' the Cuban minister told delegates from Spain, Portugal and the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking states of Latin America.
Robaina said he was confident that the summit would reaffirm shared principles of respect for national sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs.
Havana, he said, ``does not want to be the scene of any exclusion or division within the family.''
This appeared to be a veiled reference to recent suggestions by some Latin American diplomats that various countries in the region may be considering staying away from the Havana summit to protest the Cuban government's treatment of internal opponents.
Cuban officials have said all 21 nations of the Ibero- American community have been invited and are expected to attend. They say they have not been advised of any withdrawals.
Various foreign countries, including Spain and some Latin American nations, have publicly criticised Cuba for its recent jailing of four dissidents whose case had become a focus of foreign pressure on Fidel Castro's government.
Havana has been irked by the criticism, and Cuban officials have accused foreign media in Cuba of distorting coverage in favour of the dissidents.
14:41 04-08-99
Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited
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