The President of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis, will arrive in Cuba today with a wide-ranging agenda that includes meetings with high-level leaders of the Caribbean country as well as representatives of civil society.

According to the programme announced by his office, the diplomat will meet with President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez and Deputy Minister of Public Health Tania Margarita Cruz.

He will also meet with the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Cuba, Francisco Pichón, and other members of the UN Country Team in Cuba, as well as with representatives of the Federation of Cuban Women.

The itinerary also includes a master conference at the Aula Magna of the University of Havana with the theme Cuba and multilateralism: opportunities and challenges, with the participation of government officials, members of the diplomatic community, youth representatives, women leaders and academics.

The visit, which runs until 29 June, will review the importance of promoting peace, progress, prosperity and sustainability for all with an emphasis on strengthening multilateralism.

It will also highlight Cuba’s progress and contribution to multilateralism and international cooperation, ongoing regional and global challenges, and the country’s active engagement in the United Nations.

Francis, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, assumed the Presidency of the 78th General Assembly in September 2023 with the theme Rebuilding Trust and Rekindling Global Solidarity: Accelerating Action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards Peace, Prosperity, Progress and Sustainability.

The long-time diplomat also announced among his priorities the promotion of education as a universal right.

«When the international community postpones or refuses to offer its support to the millions who lack access to quality education, is it not condemning them to an intergenerational cycle of poverty, degradation and misery,» he asked.