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Embassy of India
Havana

Indo-Cuba Bilateral Relations

Political

The Indo-Cuba relations have been traditionally warm and friendly. India was amongst the first countries to extend recognition to Cuba after the 1959 Revolution. Though diplomatic relations had been established in 1956, our first resident mission in Havana was opened in 1962 at the level of Cd'A. Cuba upgraded its Embassy in Delhi to the level of Ambassador in 1972 and we followed suit in 1974. Both countries have maintained close contacts with each other in various international fora, such as the UN, NAM, WTO, etc. Both have supported each other's candidature to various UN bodies. India has supported Cuba against US supported resolutions at the UN Human Rights Council (erstwhile Human Rights Commission) Geneva, on alleged human rights violations in Cuba. India has also consistently voted in favour of Cuban sponsored resolutions in the UN General Assembly calling for lifting of US sanctions against Cuba.

NAM Summit

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Havana during 14-17 September, 2006 to attend the XIV NAM Summit. MOS Shri Anand Sharma headed the Indian delegation to the Ministerial segment of the Meeting. PM met with President Fidel Castro and acting President Raul Castro and discussed bilateral relations. During the meeting with PM, President Castro spoke nostalgically about his meetings with Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru and Mrs Indira Gandhi and recalled some of his conversations with them. The Government of India donated an IT centre to Cuba during the PM visit

UN Reforms


Cuba shares India's views on democratising UN and expansion of the UN Security Council. It also holds the reform of the UN Security Council as central to the overall reform process. President Fidel Castro called for India's inclusion as a permanent member in the restructured UN Security Council on at least on two occasions in the past

Relief Assistance and Goodwill

In December, 1992 while Cuba was passing through severe economic crisis, India donated 10,000 tons of wheat and 10,000 tons of rice which was highly appreciated by Cuba. CPI(M) had also mobilised donation of medicines to Cuba in 1993 and of soaps and detergents in 1994 and 1995. Following the earthquake in Maharashtra, Cuba donated US$ 40,000 to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund. In June 1997 India donated medicines worth Rs. 5 lakhs to the victims of the October 1996 Hurricane Lily. Following the earthquake in Gujarat, Cuba donated US$ 100,000 to Prime Minister´s Relief Fund.

India granted an aid of Two Million USD in cash as disaster relief assistance to Cuba in the wake of massive devastations caused by the hurricanes Gustav, Ike and Paloma during August and September 2008. The donation was a measure of solidarity towards the friendly people and the Government of Cuba and this act further strengthened the existing warm and friendly bilateral ties. Cuba accepted with thanks this gesture of solidarity from the Indian people and Government.

ITEC and Bilateral Assitance

ITEC cooperation has increased in the last few years. Cuba´s utilisation is 100%. In 2009-2010, 65 Slots were allocated to Cuba under ITEC programme and they were fully utilized. A 5Kw solar power plant was donated to Cuba under ITEC in 1995. India has donated an IT Centre – INDIA CUBA KNOWLEDGE CENTRE- to Cuba which is being implemented by NIIT. The Centre was inaugurated by MOS Shri Anand Sharma during the NAM summit on 14th September 2006. Till date, 800 Cubans have been trained at the Centre. The teaching faculty consists of three professors from NIIT. Government of India, on the request of the Cuban Side has extended the project by one year till 2010.Keeping in view the excellent bilateral relations and Cuba’s ongoing agricultural reforms, in November 2009, India extended a Line of Credit of 5 million USD to Cuba for the purchase of agricultural machinery from India. The Cuban government thanked India for this goodwill gesture.

Sports Cooperation

Our Minister for Sports Mr Mani Shankar Aiyer visited Cuba in February 2007. An agreement on Sports Cooperation was signed during the visit. An action plan for strengthening Indo- Cuba sporting links was also agreed upon during the visit . Cricketer Robin Singh accompanied the Minister to explore the possibilities of running an India sponsored cricket development programme in Cuba. First Vice Minister for Sports in Cuba Mr Leon Richards visited India in May 2007.
The Indian Sports Ministry has drawn up plans to send Indian teams to participate in various sporting events in Cuba. The Indian Amateur Boxing Federation and the Army Sports Institute, Pune have been hiring Cuban coaches – boxing, athletics, volleyball and diving – on a regular basis. The coaching by Cuban Specialists has helped Indian Boxers to win medals in various competitions including Olympics.

Cuture

Indian culture and civilization is well appreciated in Cuba. Yoga and Vipassana are practised and the former forms part of the health curriculum of the Government. There are several followers of Shri Shri Ravi Shankar. Interest in Ayurveda and Indian Naturopathy is increasing. Workshops on Indian Philosophy are organised by local clubs. Tagore’s birth anniversary is celebrated every year. On 7th May, 2007, a bust of Tagore donated by ICCR was unveiled in Old Havana.
There is a bust of Mahatma Gandhi and a statue of Mother Teresa in Havana. Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru occupy a special place in Cuba. The depth and variety of Indian dance, music and cinema are well known in Cuba. The House of Asia organises regular cultural events – exhibitions, film shows, talks -on India and has a hall dedicated to India where Indian art and craft objects are permanently displayed. The library at Casa de Asia is named after Rabindranath Tagore.‘Living Arts’ an ICCR sponsored Rajasthani Dance Troupe visited Cuba from 28 September – 2 October 2008. This visit further enhanced the people to people contact and strengthened the existing bilateral cultural relations between India and Cuba. A set of Indian Musical instruments was donated to Asia house at the hand of MOS E Ahamed in March 2009.

Indian Community

Indian Community in Cuba is small. It comprises 25 sisters working for Missionaries of charity and other such organisations, four medical students and two Indian nationals married to Cubans and settled in Havana. Besides, there are few businessmen of Indian origin who are Canadian and the UK nationals. A third component of the community is the people of Indian origin, descendants of Indians who came to Cuba in the early twentieth century from Jamaica and other part of the West Indies to work on sugarcane plantations. They are settled mostly in Guantanamo province in Eastern Cuba. These people have got totally assimilated into the local culture though some still carry Indian names.

Last updated March 2010

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