With a commitment to continue strengthening and further leveraging cooperation throughout the region, based on shared history and Caribbean brotherhood, Cuba celebrates its 53rd anniversary of diplomatic relations with the Caribbean.
Meeting at the Conference of Heads of Government in Chaguaramas, Trinidad and Tobago, in 1972, Prime Ministers Errol Barrow (Barbados), Michael Manley (Jamaica), Eric Williams (Trinidad and Tobago), and Forbes Burnham (Guyana) announced to the world their sovereign decision to establish relations with Cuba.
This decision not only defied the prevailing hemispheric policy of the time but also laid the foundation for diplomatic and cooperative relations between CARICOM and Cuba. At the first CARICOM Summit in Havana in 2002, it was agreed that December 8 would be designated as Cuba-CARICOM Day.
Currently, Cuba maintains diplomatic missions in all 14 independent member states of CARICOM, and these, in turn, are represented in Havana by an equal number of missions. Cuba is also accredited to CARICOM, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, and the Association of Caribbean States. With the Caribbean, we have built a network of solidarity that serves as an exceptional example of South-South Cooperation, so essential for achieving the shared goals of sustainable development and the well-being of our peoples.
Five decades of relations based on solidarity, cooperation, and mutual respect have seen Cuba become a key partner in providing specialized medical services and technical assistance in areas such as education, construction, and biotechnology, among others. For its part, the Caribbean Community has maintained its consensus in supporting Cuba and denouncing the economic blockade imposed on the island and its inclusion on unilateral lists that intensify the measures of economic strangulation against the country.
Let this day serve to celebrate and thank the government of Grenada for its unwavering support for Cuba in international forums and its commitment to maintaining cooperative and solidarity relations that have lasted for over four decades. Cuba has trained more than 400 Grenadian students in its university institutions, has accumulated almost two decades of collaboration in Grenada's public medical services, and is expanding its technical cooperation in other areas. The current regional dynamics demand that the CARICOM countries and Cuba maintain their unity and their principles of recognizing the self-determination and national sovereignty of our peoples. Only respect and just action will allow us to achieve effective regional solidarity and significant and comprehensive economic development among all the Caribbean countries.
Happy Cuba-CARICOM Day 2025!
(EmbaCubaGranada)