During the meeting, Machado Ventura and Cardinal Bertone expressed their
satisfaction for the results of the trip of the representative of Pope
Benedict XVI to the island in February, its positive repercussion, and
their willingness that bilateral relations continue to develop in the
same direction.

In statements to reporters in Rome, the Cuban first vice-president
pointed out that Cuba considers that the Summit on Food Security has the
virtue of revealing the seriousness of problems like famine and climate
change.

Machado Ventura highlighted the speeches delivered by representatives of
developing countries about the food crisis.

He expressed that despite the attempts by the US government and other
powerful nations to obstruct the adoption of lasting measures, the
voices from the South have risen with strength in Rome.

The crisis can’t be hidden behind cosmetic initiatives, because the very
same disturbances, the figure of 840 million people with hunger in the
world, are eloquent, and point to the fact that the peoples’ suffering
can’t continue any longer, he stressed.

The Spanish news agency EFE said that the delegations of countries
participating in the Summit on Food Security in Rome continued their
debates on the Final Declaration on Wednesday and on the global plan of
action to counter the crisis, which has stemmed from increasing food
prices.

Meanwhile, the Italian news agency ANSA pointed out that Latin American
delegations made an appeal for the elimination of protectionism and
agriculture subsidies, while at the same time they warned that the
increase of food prices could generate social and political tensions on
the planet.

Since Tuesday and until Thursday, some fifty world leaders are
participating in Rome in the conference sponsored by the UN’s Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO).

(Ahora.cu)