Solidary Cooperation between Cuba and ASEAN
By María Josefina Arce
This week marked a new anniversary of the creation of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with which Cuba maintains historical and excellent relations of friendship and cooperation, both at the bloc level and bilaterally with the 10 member countries.
Disaster response, education, health, and human resources development are some of the areas in which the largest of the Antilles has cooperated with the member nations of the influential regional bloc, which was established in 1967.
The ties have been characterized by respect and solidarity. High-level visits have taken place, such as the one made last October by the Cuban Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, to Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, during which collaboration agreements were signed.
This visit was preceded by the visit of the then Cambodian Prime Minister, Hu Sen, to Cuban territory in September, during which agreements in health, sports, and international relations were also signed.
In recent months, the Caribbean nation has also received officials from other Asian bloc states, such as the President of the National Assembly of Vietnam, Vuong Dinh Hue, and the Vice President of Tourism for the Americas of Malaysia, Mohd Akbal Seria.
New areas of cooperation have opened up with Cuba's inclusion in the Southeast Asian Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in 2020. Our country became the first in the Caribbean and the fifth in Latin America to participate in this mechanism.
And in April of last year, the ASEAN Committee in Havana was officially established, according to a resolution by the secretariat of the group.
Cuba and ASEAN share similar positions on non-intervention in internal affairs and full respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The bloc has always supported the Cuban people in their tireless struggle against the US economic blockade, and this has been made clear through their votes in favor of lifting the unilateral measure in the United Nations General Assembly.
And although these states also suffered the impacts of COVID-19, countries such as Vietnam and Laos sent donations of food and medical supplies to the largest of the Antilles, amidst the worsening of the blockade in the midst of the global health emergency.
Cuba and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are seeking new options for collaboration to further deepen the close ties that bind them, despite the geographical distance.
