Ministers of Culture, and high-ranking officials from the member countries of the Group of 77 + China met in Havana, Cuba, earlier this month for a series of multilateral meetings aimed at promoting south-south cooperation for sustainable development and the promotion of culture as a public good.

The May 4-5 meetings were held under the theme: Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development.

Ministers who attended the plenary session on May 5 at the Havana International Conference Centre, supported the proposal to place culture on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to promote culture as a public good.

This country’s Minister of Culture, Carlos James, described the event as “an important opportunity for a global reset of the cultural agenda, highlighting the causes of member states, such as the cultural preservation of indigenous peoples, while amplifying the positive strides made by countries representing the South.”

Minister James said the meeting provided a platform for leaders to develop stronger policy frameworks for the promotion of culture and the creative industries and its link with multilateralism.

The Havana event coincided with the Group of 77+China meeting of Ministers of Tourism, for which Cuba holds the pro tempore presidency, and Cuba’s International Tourism Fair (FITCuba) 2023, which saw participation from leading hotel chains, airline executives, business executives and suppliers.

Following the Havana meetings, Minister James travelled to San Jose, Costa Rica for a ministerial meeting on Environment and Climate Change between the Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and the European Union (EU) as part of St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ pro-tempore Presidency of CELAC.

The meeting, aimed at highlighting the key points of convergence around regional priorities and interregional cooperation, which will be used as input for the European Union – Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Summit (EU-CELAC) on July 17 and 18 in Brussels.(API)