Cuba’s aspiration for economic recovery has led to warming up ties with the Asian Tiger, Singapore in order to counter the American Blockade.
Singapore and Cuba have been warming up their diplomatic relations in recent years. The two countries have conducted several state-level visits as well as signed cooperation-related agreements for deepening the ties.
The visit is one of the major highlights of Cuban President Miguel Canel’s newly begun second term and his goal of bringing up the Cuban Economy after a long period of slowdown due to the pandemic and declining tourism. Cuba has been engaging with South East Asian nations like Vietnam for reenergizing their bilateral relations in the last few months as well as for mitigating the economic blockade caused by the United States of America which negatively impacted the Cuban Peso.
Past Visits
In June 2016, Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry, Lim Hng Kiang visited Cuba and lead a 14-member delegation to the Island Nation for expanding business growth between the two nations. The minister interacted with the Vice President and Minister of Economy and Planning, Marino Murillo Jorge as well as attended a dinner hosted by his Cuban Counterpart, Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz. He also met the Cuban Ministers of Tourism and Transport during his visit.
Manuel Marrero Cruz, Prime Minister of Cuba visited Singapore in October 2022 and met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. PM Marrero was also hosted to dinner by Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam during his visit to the city-state.
Details of the Visit
Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan is on a four visit to Cuba, at a time when the two countries are marking the 25th anniversary of bilateral relations.
The Singaporean leader met Deputy Prime Minister Alejandro Gil Fernandez, who also handles the Ministry of Economy and Planning on Thursday, ie April 20, 2024. He also met the Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment and co-Deputy Prime Minster, Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz on the second day of the visit.
The Prime Minister was then hosted to lunch by Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla on Friday. The two leaders reportedly talked about the importance of building up relations in an environment filled with external challenges.
The Final day of the Visit was marked with a meeting of the Cuban President, Miguel Diaz-Canel and the Singaporean Foreign Minister. The president invited Singapore to participate in a Summit of the Group of 77 plus China which will happen in Havana in September.
Statements from the Government
As per the Singaporean Foreign Affairs Ministry Statement, “The duo had a long discussion on regional development and cooperation in areas like sports, tourism, air services and biotechnology.”
The website of the Cuban President has provided more details on the active participation of the Singaporean business community in Cuba as well as talked about the prospects of work on new projects and areas where the two countries can collaborate. He also noted that new prospects for other investments and modifications to Cuba’s Foreign Investment Law have been offered to the Singaporean community.
Diaz-Canel gave his remarks on Singapore’s development model as a benchmark for Cuba’s upgradation of its socio-economic model benchmarks for updating its economic and social model as well as thanked the city-state for their support towards Cuba’s battle against the American Economic Blocades.
Future Scope for the Two Nations
This Partnership looks like the chance for a boost in economic growth for the two countries and Cuba’s growing interest in South East Asia might provide an opportunity for the ASEAN Nations to tap into the Cuban Market with their relaxing policies for foreign businesses. Cuba will boost its economic growth and will be able to successfully counter the American Blockade.
