00:55 GMT, 17 June 2023
Danay Galletti Hernández
from Cuba
From January to April this year, trade between the two nations increased ninefold compared to the same period in 2022, and key authorities are forecasting continuity of this growth in sectors such as investment, energy and tourism. Sputnik spoke to experts about the benefits of these connections for Havana and Moscow.
Continue reading at SputnikDuring the official visit of the island’s Prime Minister Manuel Marrero to Russia from 6 to 17 this month, the signing of significant bilateral agreements stands out. The Cuban authority also attended the Intergovernmental Council of the Eurasian Economic Union (UEE) held in the city of Sochi last week and the International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg, Marrero said high level meetings with the Russian President Wladimir Putin; the President of the Federation Council (upper house of parliament), Valentina Matvienko; Advisor to the Head of State Maksim Oreshkin, who recently visited Havana; and Vice-President of the Security Council and President of the United Russia party, Dmitry Medvedev.
Academic Luis René Fernández Tabío, a member of the International Economic Research Center at the University of Havana, told Sputnik that the presence of the Cuban Prime Minister in the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council was due to the opportunities given to Cuba as an observer state within the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council UEE.
“It has enormous political and diplomatic importance, but the most important thing for the island is the opportunity to boost its economic growth by re-entering the world market. Expanding investment, trade and revenue streams is a crucial part of national policy “amid a complex crisis with internal and external obstacles,” the analyst stressed.
According to the scientist, the tightening of the economic, trade and financial blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba forces a deepening and diversification of relations at the global level, and on the other hand, Moscow also maintains in Ukraine a special military operation against the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty organization (NATO). As a result, since February 2022, the Eurasian nation has faced myriad packages of sanctions “compelling them to do so.” reshape its political and business strategy“, in restructuring its relationships with other markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America,” the specialist pointed out. Cuba resists attempts by the West to promote Russophobia in the world
Promotion of bilateral agreements
Before this visit from Marrero, Fernández Tabío argued: Agreements and deals were already in progress. Among them, the state loan granted by Russia, which enabled the inauguration of the electric steelworks of the José Martí Steel Company, known as Antillana de Acero, in the capital municipality of Cotorro. In addition, the possible creation of an industrial park in the Mariel Special Zone, based on the strengths and interests of the countries involved, within the framework of Cuba’s development strategy and in sectors where the island has relevant advantages and results, such as the medical-pharmaceutical production of vaccines and high-tech drugs,” which could also benefit UEE states, the scientist added.
Added to that Promotion of other strategic sectors B. Transport, communications and agriculture, “which in a framework of trust and guarantees for investment and trade can produce beneficial deals for the parties involved,” said the expert.
According to Fernández Tabío, Cuba’s geographical location and the modern port infrastructure of Mariel – located in the province of Artemisa – offer numerous opportunities unused opportunities for the development of agreements between the island and neighboring territories that would provide a gateway for the UEE to the Latin American and Caribbean region.
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For his part, the academic secretary of the Center for International Policy Research (CIPI), Mario Antonio Padilla Torres, also a specialist on the countries of the former socialist bloc in Europe, told Sputnik that this new approach to the regional group will allow that too Opening of tourism and mining development and other exportable items.
For their part, the countries of the UEE could contribute in the areas of energy, agriculture and food, sectors that are included in Cuba’s plans by 2030. Along with that, this meeting represents one superior rapprochement with Russia and a continuity between presidential-level dialogues, reinforced by the high-level visit to Moscow since November 2022,” he said, referring to President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s trip to the Russian capital. Padilla Torres recalled that Putin had accepted the invitation of his Cuban counterpart to visit the largest of the Antilles, stressing mutual support at international level against the blockades, harassment and unilateral actions of the US and Western powers.
Russian contribution
Fernández Tabío believes that it is still too early to determine the true contribution of the Pacts and negotiations between Havana and Moscow involved in the economic progress of the largest of the Antilles, as it also depends on the completion and updating of its strategy, adapted to the challenging and changing conditions of the world.
“Although there are cooperation agreements based on good political relations between governments, their realization depends on internal transformations, many of which are pending or requiring adjustments and updates, as well as the ability to create favorable conditions for the promotion, investment and promotion of Russian Creating companies to do business with Cuban businessmen,” he added.
The expert understands that the scope of these exchanges is at an early stage. “It turns out something lots of potential that depends on the successful interaction of the parties”, especially in areas that have already been identified and prioritized by Havana, such as the scientific and technical area.
Added to this is the KremlinNot conditionally adapt their trade relations to the political and ideological orientation of their counterparts, but to the economic interests that may exist, always on the basis of the principles and norms of trade, the sovereignty of states and international law, a very valuable attribute for Cuba which has been the target of all kinds of attacks since 1959,” said Fernández Tabío.
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Relationships in a multipolar scenario
Doctor of History Fabio Fernández told Sputnik that relations between the defunct Soviet Union and Cuba emerged in a typical Cold War scenario of bipolarity and point to a series of political-level convergences for “socialism-building as a path ‘ reacted as an alternative to capitalism.
“There was one structured ideological connection, beyond differences, contradictions and tensions. This determined the Establishment of diplomatic and economic relationswith a broader expression in the integration of the island in the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance in the early 1970s and in the socialist camp,” said the professor from the University of Havana.
The master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies on Latin America, the Caribbean and Cuba also ensured this This reality is not comparable to the current contextsince the Caribbean State and Russia traditionally have good relations and agreements in areas of common interest, but in a completely different world marked by the multipolarity.
In this sense, while Cuba is strengthening its ties with Moscow, it is also trying to diversify its international relations and alliances to counter the resurgence of US hostility and its preponderance.
For Fernández the Soviet Union has not disappeared from the imagination of Cubansbecause there were 30 years of intense relations, during which many learned the Russian language, the culture of this region arrived in different ways, hundreds of young people studied in countries of the former USSR, and many of the residents of these nations came to the island as part of cooperative actions.
“This mark was left and therefore any reference to Russia in the present immediately connects with this Soviet panorama. All of this is also related to the complex scenario in which Cuba lives, which is constantly under siege, and the idea of having it.” “A powerful ally and a brother who helps one inspires understanding of ways that the can make life easier,” he said.
The deepening of these ties “makes the powers that be in the world and places nervous.” Check the logic of US hegemony, which permanently fabricates the idea of a conspiracy; If an X country simultaneously maintains relations with China or Moscow and does not submit to the imperial dictates of Washington, there will be an immediate conflict and questioning.”
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The scholar claimed that for about three decades, right after the fall of the socialist camp, the island has been in crisis, which in recent years has been aggravated by the confluence of internal failures, reforms that did not go as expected, the COVID-19 pandemic, etc The intensification of the blockade was tightened.
“This is a city in need of hope, and the idea that things will undoubtedly get better excites citizens and permeates their spirits. Cuba needs a significant influx of foreign investment because it cannot reach the level of development required solely by its own resources and efforts,” he explained.
Therefore, the professor emphasized, we need one foreign capital injectionbut “it will be necessary to negotiate from a position of defending the sovereignty of the country, its essence and values, the mission of each state, respecting itself and also seeking a connection with the mainstream interests of society.”
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