Caricom celebrates 40 years of Cuba ties

-will continue pressing for end to US embargo

Chairman of the Caricom Heads of Government, St Lucia PM  Dr Kenny Anthony and President Donald Ramotar say the Region values its diplomatic relations with Cuba and vows to continue to advocate for the ending of the US embargo against it.

The statements came amid observances on December 8th to mark 40 years of bilateral relations between Caricom and Cuba.

In a press release issued by the Caricom Secretariat to mark the occasion, the St Lucia Prime Minister and Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community noted the “bold and historic step” Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados had taken 40 years ago on December 8 by embracing Cuba and “breaking the bonds of isolation that had been foisted on the country and signalling to the world that here was one Caribbean, indivisible.”

President Donald Ramotar (right( and Cuban Ambassador to Guyana Raul Gortázar Marrero share atoast on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Guyana Cuba relations. (GINA photo)

“That bold and historic step initiated a journey that has taken the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Cuba along the path of a rewarding partnership with mutual benefits,” he said. Since that historic day, the Caribbean Community member states have maintained their unflinching support for Cuba in various international fora and take great pride in being pioneers in this hemisphere with respect to the recognition of Cuba as an integral part of the vibrant and diverse Caribbean region, he said. “The election of Cuba to the Presidency and Pro Tempore Secretariat of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in 2013 is ample demonstration that the longest journey starts with one step,” Dr Anthony added.

Ten years ago on the 30th anniversary of this event, the first of four Summits was held in Havana to help guide “the evolving partnership between the CARICOM family of nations and the Republic of Cuba.” The Declaration of Havana, adopted on that occasion, mandated that the Region celebrate on this day annually, not only the birthing event, but the fraternal relations and solidarity between Caricom member states and Cuba.

Caricom-Cuba relations
According to the release, the following three summits at Bridgetown, Santiago de Cuba and Port-of-Spain have, each in their own way, built on the foundation laid in Havana by extending areas of co-operation and further strengthening the bonds of friendship. “The benefits of this co-operation redound throughout our Community whether it is through the provision by Cuba, of scholarships or technical assistance in the education, health, sport and cultural sectors. These initiatives have had a positive impact on the ground in our Member States and have brought our countries even closer,” Dr Anthony said.

On the 40th anniversary, Caricom again takes the opportunity to express its profound appreciation for the gracious and unstinting assistance of Cuba in its efforts in building human capital and in achieving sustainable development. What is most striking about the solidarity displayed by Cuba with Caricom, the chairman said, is that despite the constraints placed on its own economic development by the US embargo “as well as the accompanying extraterritorial measures, which we and the overwhelming majority of the international community repudiate, is the quantum and diversity of the assistance that Cuba provides.”

Caricom-Cuba Day celebrates the achievements which have resulted from that relationship. “It is a day for CARICOM and Cuba to celebrate our Caribbean spirit as members of one family. It is a day for CARICOM and Cuba to recommit ourselves to maintain our support for each other for another 40 years and beyond,” Dr Anthony said.

Guyana-Cuba relations
President Ramotar expressed similar sentiments about Guyana’s relationship with Cuba at a reception held to mark the occasion. According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release, Ramotar said Guyana values highly its relationship with Cuba and will continue to advocate for the ending of the US embargo against it.

In 2009 Caribbean Community leaders were hopeful that the blockade against Cuba would have been lifted when newly elected US President Barack Obama had spoken of a “new beginning” with that island during the Fifth Summit of the Americas held in Trinidad and Tobago. The commercial, economic and financial embargo imposed by the United States has existed since the 1960s, a move which Cuban Ambassador to Guyana Raul Gortázar Marrero described as a strategy to isolate Cuba from countries in Latin America the Caribbean and the rest of the world, GINA reported.

“Cuba will be…grateful to the Guyanese brothers and sisters for its… position of respect and solidarity that it always had for our country…the evidence had been the historic vote in the United Nations General Assembly supporting us against the unjust and cruel blockade,” Marrero told the audience at the reception.

In his address, Ramotar said the decision that Guyana took 40 years ago was “a divergence from the status quo of diplomatic and trade relations and a clear demonstration to the world of the place which Cuba occupies within the regional family of Caribbean nations, and the respect which Guyana holds for Cuba’s sovereignty and right to self determination.” However, over the years the two countries have built a solid foundation of dynamic political dialogue, warm mutual respect and productive cooperation, he added.

“As true friends, we stood by each other in the good times and the bad times. During our own struggle to safeguard our independence and to build on the foundations for the growth and development of our nation, Cuba was in the forefront in providing the much needed support, especially …in the area of science and technology, health, culture, sports and education,” Ramotar said.

According to GINA, a meeting between former Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo and former Cuban Leader Fidel Castro in Cuba resulted in the signing of a bilateral agreement for Guyanese to pursue scholarships there in the fields of medicine, engineering and agriculture. Sixty-nine students from the first batch of 500 students that pursued studies there are currently undertaking their final year exams and it is anticipated that an additional 278 will be returning next year. On completion of their studies and 18 months of internship, the scholarship awardees pursuing medicine are bound by a contract that requires them to serve for a period of five years maximum, and two to three years in other areas of study.

The Guyana/Cuba pact also made possible technical support in the construction of four diagnostic and treatment centres and a modern eye care facility at Port Mourant. Prior to this agreement, several batches of Guyanese with eye ailments travelled to Cuba for surgeries through a programme called ‘Miracle Mission’.