CUBA: Planned Royal Visit Caps Year of Diplomatic Successes

By Patricia Grogg Reprint | | Print |

Patricia Grogg

HAVANA, Nov 18 1998 (IPS) - The confirmation of a visit to Cuba by the king and queen of Spain caps a series of diplomatic successes for the Caribbean nation, starting in January with a five-day stay there by Pope John Paul.

The visit was confirmed by Spanish Foreign Minister Abel Matutes, who said on Nov. 12 – at the end of a three-day visit – that Spanish King Juan Carlos would make a long-awaited trip the the Caribbean nation in March next.

He said, however, that some obstacles, like issues related to ‘family relations’ remained to be resolved.

Matutes was seen off at the airport by President Fidel Castro, a gesture apparently meant to show that there was no official uneasiness, at least not publicly, about remarks by the Spanish official on the need for political changes in Cuba, and his meeting with opposition sectors.

In November 1996, Havana had come back on its approval of the appointment of Jose Coderch as Spanish ambassador after the diplomat declared in an interview that the embassy’s doors would be open to Cuban dissidents.

The ensuing diplomatic crisis continued until last April, when Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina travelled to Madrid and Eduardo Junco Bonet was appointed Spain’s new ambassador to Havana.

Matutes said at a conference at the University of Havana, also attended by Castro, that “the world has changed all around Cuba, and Cuba must also change and adapt to those transformations” but that Cubans alone should decide to make any eventual changes, “without impositions, embargoes or pressures from the outside”.

Though he did refer to it specifically, Matutes criticised the blockade that the United States has maintained against Cuba since the 1960s, warning that “embargoes (and) pressures from the outside (are) destructive and do not achieve the purpose that they are supposed to serve”.

One of the cornerstones of Cuban diplomacy is to seek condemnations of the blockade at all international fora the country participates in. As a result, a rejection of the embargo opens the doors almost automatically to an understanding with Havana.

Last October, Cuba celebrated as a diplomatic victory the support it received at the United Nations for a resolution against the U.S. policy of unilateral sanctions. It was approved by 157 countries, with only the United States and Israel voting against it.

When the Pope visited in Jan. 21-25, he condemned the economic measures against Cuba “imposed from the outside”, which he described as “unjust and ethically unacceptable”.

“The only way of not getting anything from Cuba is by exerting pressure”, said Castro after bidding farewell to the Prime Minister of Canada, Jean Chretien, who visited for almost 40 hours last April. He said “there was no kind of pressure” by the Canadian who, during his brief stay, called for the release of a group of prisoners and the democratisation of Cuban society.

However, the biggest gain from the Chretien’s trip was economic, and it served to consolidate Canada’s position as the island’s stablest trading partner.

Canada is considered the biggest investor in Cuba, with capital exceeding 600 million dollars, and it is Havana’s second most important trading partner, with a trade volume of more than 500 million dollars.

Spain is the island’s number one partner, with bilateral trade amounting to 600 million dollars. It is also the country with the highest number of investment projects in the Caribbean country: about 65 joint ventures.

The latest official report states that half of the 350-odd associations with foreign capital that have been approved or are already functioning, are from member states of the European Union (EU). Cuba is also negotiating bilateral agreements with Spain, France and Italy to avoid double tariffs. And of the more than 30 conventions signed since 1993 for the promotion and protection of investments, nine are with E.U. nations.

According to Matutes, there are big prospects for Cuba with the future framework of cooperation that will be opened up by the Lome Convention, which the EU is currently negotiating with the African, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP), on which Cuba is an observer.

“I hope that the process of reflection in which the Cuban government is immersed comes to a positive conclusion, so that Cuba can benefit from the exceptional instrument that the E.U. is offering to developing countries,” he stressed.

Experts said that, should Cuba become a full-fledged member of the ACP group, that would normalise its relations with the E.U., allowing it to benefit from a broad range of cooperation projects and lower tariffs. The problem is that the E.U. requires all the countries to accept a “democratic clause”, which many in the Cuban government do not look upon positively, the sources added.

In any case, Havana has the support of other Caribbean nations, with which it has been conducting active diplomacy in both political and economic matters.

Cuba is a founding member of the Association of Caribbean States, an important mechanism for cooperation, consultation and coordination. It also participates, since 1993, in the Caribbean Community, aspiring to become its 16th member.

Another important benchmark in Cuba’s efforts to reinsert itself in its geographic environment and adjust its economy to the international context was its admission, earlier this month, into the Latin American Association for Integration.