Pretoria, May 11, 2021.- Cuba and South Africa celebrate today the 27th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, in a context of strong and special ties of friendship, cooperation and solidarity.
On May 11, 1994, in one of the first foreign policy actions of the new government in a recently liberated South Africa, Presidents Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro formalized diplomatic relations between our two nations.
However, long before official ties began, there was already a long history of Cuban assistance to the liberation struggle of the South African people against Apartheid.
Cuba denounced the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela and his companions when they and their movement were still quite unknown internationally and were classified as terrorists by many governments. In his autobiography, "Long Road to Freedom," Madiba explained that while in prison, he found inspiration in Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and the Cuban Revolution.
As early as 1961, even before the Rivonia Trial, young South Africans from the Anti-Apartheid forces began to arrive in our country to receive medical care or professional training in medicine and science.
The deep and special relationship between Cuba and South Africa was cemented on the battlefields of southern Angola, where almost half a million Cubans joined their destiny with that of African combatants to reject the military intervention of Apartheid and Imperialism on the continent.
In these years, bilateral cooperation has continuously expanded in various areas, such as health services, education, science and technology, agriculture, infrastructure development, housing, water and sanitation, human settlements, public works, information technologies and communications, among many others.
We proudly highlight bilateral cooperation in the field of health. From 1997 to the present, thousands of Cuban doctors have provided assistance in South Africa and thousands of young South Africans have been trained as doctors in our country.
Since their arrival in South Africa in April 2020, the more than 200 specialists of the Cuban Medical Brigade "Henry Reeve" have devoted themselves to assist in the battle against the pandemic in this sister African nation, with the highest sense of solidarity and humanism. The South African government made the decision to nominate our heroes in white coats for the Nobel Peace Prize, which the Cuban people greatly appreciate.
Cuba thanks the firm position of solidarity that the South African people and government have maintained in support of the fight against the criminal economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on Cuba by the United States government for more than 60 years.
Both countries also maintain excellent cooperation in the multilateral arena, through mechanisms such as the Non-Aligned Movement, the Group of 77 and the United Nations system.
We endorse the words of the South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr. Naledi Pandor, before the National Parliament, on March 4, when she stated: “South Africa and the Republic of Cuba are bonded by a noble history of freedom struggle. The current relations between South Africa and Cuba are morally pedigreed as well as embedded within the doctrine of South-South Relations”.
