Diplomatic relations between Cuba and Malaysia were established on February 6, 1975.
On this 50th anniversary, we remember the milestones of relations between Cuba and Malaysia, whose foundations have been formed from respect and friendship.
Cuba opened its embassy in Kuala Lumpur on 1997, while Malaysia opened its representation in Havana in February 2001.
Under the Partial Visa Requirement Agreement signed on September 26, 1997 between Malaysia and the Republic of Cuba, a citizen of either country who is in possession of a valid passport shall not be required to obtain a visa or a tourist card in order to enter the territory of the other country for a period of up to 90 days.
Fidel Castro Ruz made a high-level visit in 2001, and was received by King Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. During that visit, the Sultan awarded Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz the Most Exalted Order of the Crown of the Realm.
During Fidel Castro's visit to Kuala Lumpur in 2001, also a Commercial, Economic, and Scientific-Technical Exchange Agreement was signed, and the I Intergovernmental Commission was created.
That same year, 2001, after the death of the King of Malaysia, Yand Di Pertuan Agong XI Sultan, Sahahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Alhaj, Cuba declared Official Mourning.
In 2003, Fidel returned to Malaysia to participate in the NAM Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Raul Castro Ruz also visited Malaysia in 2005 when he was the first deputy president of Cuba.
For their part, two Malaysian heads of government visited Cuba on several occasions.
Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia, visited Cuba twice: in 1997 and 2000, to participate at the South Summit.
In his position as Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi visited Cuba also in two moments: in 2004 and 2006, although he had already visited the country in 1998 as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
A Special Address by Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad on ‘Reflections on Malaysia-Cuba Relations’ at the IKMAS High Level Public Lecture in commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of Bilateral Relations between Cuba and Malaysia was held on 9 February 2015 at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
More than 20 Malaysian medical students have graduated in Cuba, who received a full scholarship offered by the Cuban government to become doctors.
A relevant but sad fact in the history of diplomatic relations between the two countries is the death of the first (concurrent) ambassador to Malaysia, Mario García Incháustegui and his wife, Gladys Delgado Ortiz, who lost their lives in the air disaster of Malaysian Airlines Flight 653, when the plane they were traveling in was hijacked when they were heading to Malaysia, where he was a concurrent ambassador.
The Tanjung Kupang memorial, located in the town of Johor Bahru, in the south of the Asian country, remembers the victims of the terrorist attack that took place on December 4, 1977 and in which 100 people of various nationalities died.
This is the list of Malaysian ambassadors to Cuba:
H.E. Dato’ Mohammad Kamal Yan Yahaya, 2001 - 2005
H.E. Dato’ Zainol Abidin Omar, 2005 - 2008
H.E. Yean Yoke Heng, 2008 –2011
H.E. Jojie Samuel M.C. Samuel, 2011 –2014
H.E. Khairi Omar, 2015 –2018
H.E. Dato' Roslan Tan Sri Abdul Rahman 2018 – 2021
H. E. Muhammad Radzi Jamaludin 2023- PRESENT
And these are the Cuban ambassadors to Malaysia:
H. E Teresita Fernández Diaz 1997-2002
H. E Pedro Monzón Barata 2002-2008
H. E Carlos A Amores 2008- 2011
H. E Rubén Pérez Valdez 2011-2015
H. E Ibete Fernández Hernández 2015-2021
H. E Florentino Batista González 2021- PRESENT