On December 8, 1972, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago had simultaneously established full diplomatic relations with Cuba. The Cold War was at its height and Cuba was almost totally isolated within the hemisphere. The action by the four independent Commonwealth Caribbean states was seen as an assertion of their newly won sovereignty - an act of defiance, even - and a signal that they regarded Cuba as an integral member of the Caribbean family.

As they gained their political independence, the remaining English-speaking Caribbean countries followed this lead and established diplomatic ties with Havana. Political, economic and technical cooperation developed steadily. CARICOM states have consistently opposed Washington’s trade and financial embargo on Cuba.

Cooperation was further boosted in the 1990s with the end of the Cold War and the establishment of the Association of Caribbean States, in which Cuba and all of CARICOM were founding members. Cuba has provided scholarships, technical assistance, medical personnel and assistance in periods of natural disasters to its Caribbean neighbours.

By 2000, a Cuba-CARICOM Trade and Economic Cooperation agreement had been negotiated. Through CARICOM’s intermediation, Cuba had been accepted as a member of the African-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) group of countries. Cuba also became a contributor to the CARICOM Regional Negotiating Machinery (CRNM).

Last week’s Summit in Havana, convened on Cuba’s invitation to mark the 30th Anniversary of diplomatic relations, witnessed several notable developments -

Cuba announced its decision to re-open negotiations with the EU for accession to the Cotonou Accord with the ACP, securing CARICOM’s full support for its application.

Cuba will help CARICOM to set up a school to train up to 200 health professionals specialising in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, including the provision of HIV diagnostic kits and help in securing anti-retroviral drugs. The school will likely be located in an OECS state.

A Protocol was signed providing for provisional application of the Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement in January 2003. The Agreement covers market access as well as cooperation in trade, tourism, transportation, trade financing, investment and intellectual property rights. The Protocol will allow the Agreement to be implemented in advance of formal ratification by all CARICOM states.

December 8 will henceforth be observed as Cuba-CARICOM Day. Summits will be held every three years on that date to further dialogue and review cooperation, alternating between Cuba and a CARICOM host country. Ministers will meet 18 months after each Summit to discuss priority issues for the Caribbean region.

The Cuban President briefed his CARICOM colleagues on Cuba’s programme for structural adjustment of its sugar industry, which involves the closure of over 70 factories and the re-training of 58,000 workers. There was also an open discussion of concerns that the eventual lifting of the U.S. travel embargo would be to the detriment of CARICOM tourism.