by Renwick Rose

The St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG)/Cuba Friendship Society joins with the Governments and people of both countries in celebrating the 25th anniversary of the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between our respective countries.

In so doing, we pay tribute to the foresight and courage of the administration of 1992, led by Sir James Mitchell, which took the bold step 25 years ago.

It must be recalled that at the time of SVG’s historic move in 1992, only the ‘Big Four’ (Jamaica, Barbados, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago) who broke the diplomatic ice, in 1972, Cuba’s neighbour The Bahamas, and the revolutionary governments of Grenada and Suriname, both in 1979, had dared to defy the western ‘Iron Curtain’ imposed to blockade Cuba and which kept most Caribbean nations in mortal fear of any such diplomatic step.

Given that context, and the steadfast refusal of the government which preceded the Mitchell administration to even countenance any relations with Cuba, the courageous step of 1992 must be fully applauded and appreciated. It opened the way for a fruitful development of state-to-state and people-to-people relations between SVG and Cuba on a transparent and mutually beneficial basis.

It must be recalled that, previous to this, it was the SVG/Cuba Friendship Society and the progressive political movement led by the United People’s Movement, its antecedents and successors, who had kept the links between the two countries alive. This resulted especially in the accession of many young Vincentian students to university scholarships in Cuba, a programme adopted by the Mitchell government and which continues up to today.

The people of St Vincent and the Grenadines can justly feel proud of our relations with Cuba over the last 40 years, predating even the 1992 formal diplomatic links. Our country has gained a formidable human resource capacity, the development of intellectual capital with training and formation provided by the Cuban state. In addition, there have been invaluable programmes in health with the “VISION NOW” project worthy of special mention, and the selfless provision of resources, without which the building of the Argyle International Airport would have been a pipe-dream, all testifying to the deep bonds of friendship.

In turn, successive Vincentian governments have resisted external pressures to try and isolate Cuba, have provided valuable political and diplomatic support and, despite our meagre resources, have made contributions to disaster relief when Cuba has suffered in this regard.

We must endeavour to build on this solid foundation of 25 years. Much more can be done in the way of cooperation in the fields of trade, agriculture, sport, tourism and culture, to name a few. Our Society urges positive moves in this direction.

As we mark this esteemed anniversary, we express our gratitude to the Government and people of Cuba, and our appreciation of the positive stand of successive Vincentian Governments since 1992. We look forward to the deepening and strengthening of the unbreakable bonds of friendship between our two peoples.