America, Europe must give Africa equal trade and investment opportunities - Cuban minister

America, Europe must give Africa equal trade and investment opportunities - Cuban minister
By Larry Moonze in Havana, Cuba
Tue 25 May 2010, 04:00 CAT

AMERICA and the developed Europe must give Africa equal trade and investment opportunities, Cuban deputy minister Marcos Rodriguez Costa has said. Rodriguez also said Africa remains the first priority of the Cuban foreign policy.

In an interview ahead of Africa Freedom Day which falls today, Rodriguez said while Africa had tremendous challenges, the continent today had a large number of “very wise African leaders that would know by themselves, and together with the people how to solve their problems.”

“It is very true that like all of us, Africa has tremendous challenges… challenges of development, challenges of governance, Africa has to fight poverty. It has challenges of infrastructure, solving internal conflicts but we have always said that there is a large number of very wise African leaders that would know by themselves and together with the people how to solve their problems,” said Rodriguez who is in charge of Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

“Like any developing country, Africa has got its own troubles. But You should never forget that Africa went out of colonialism only 50 years ago. What is 50 years in the history of a country? I think there are many things to be done in Africa and I am sure that the African people, African leaders and politicians will be able to achieve their goal of putting Africa in her real place in the international community.”

He said it was for that reason that the US and European powers should help Africa get to its feet.

Rodriguez said while there was great optimism when US President Barack Obama won the presidency, it was still too early to judge him.

“I think that Obama expressed both in his campaign as well as after the election his intention to bring change, to look at the world differently,” he said. “Not from a unilateral position but to work more from a multilateral point of view. But the real possibility and capability for him to bring about change is yet to be seen. There are still very conservative forces in the American political establishment that you have to take into consideration. And so you are seeing their policy towards Latin America, you are still seeing how America is keeping its troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Rodriguez said President Obama has only been to Ghana while his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has travelled more extensively in Africa.

“We have to hope and raise hope that America can do more for us the same way we feel that Europe and the developed world have cause to settle that big debt with Africa,” he said. “The European powers drained Africa for so many years and now they have the moral obligation to help Africa to stand on its feet. I feel that America can do a lot for Africa. They can help Africa to stand, not only with aid, but by guaranteeing equal opportunities for Africa in trade which is something that Africa is asking for. For equal opportunities for development, for investment by big companies in Africa but not to take away their resources but develop their own countries. I think this is a big challenge not only for Obama but also for European and other developed countries.”

He said as for Cuba its policy was not to give leftovers with Africa.

“We share the little that we have,” Rodriguez said.

He said this year Cuba joins Africa in celebrating the Year of Africa as 17 African countries observe their 50th independence anniversaries, the 47th anniversary of the creation of the OAU presently the African Union and 50 years of diplomatic relations between Cuba and some African countries.

Rodriguez said Africa was an integral part of the Cuban nationality.

He said future relations between Africa and Cuba were brighter.

“We are seeing a great development because I have to say that there have been very important changes in the last 10 years. There is, for instance, a complete new generation of African leaders who are younger, leaders of the new generation of Africa,” Rodriguez said. “We are seeing also that some of the political and economic structures in the African continent have changed since 1990 following the demise of the Soviet Union and the demise of the socialist camp. I’m sure you remember how the multiparty system was applied in Africa since 1990 and how Africa is moving step by step and little by little to place itself in the new world economic order which is taking place. I have to tell you in spite of these important political, economic and social changes in Africa the solidarity and relations between Cuba and Africa have been kept safe. We are members of the third world, we are part of the developing world and we are going to continue fighting together in all the battles that the developing world has to fight at present in the middle of the tremendous economic and financial crisis that is severely affecting us. No matter the changes, no matter the new generation of leaders in Africa, no matter the different changes everywhere, I see a very prosperous relationship between Cuba and Africa. Maybe some of the modalities of cooperation will change because definitely there are problems in Cuba and we have economic difficulties. I think also that in the future one of the shortcomings in our relations with Africa that of development of trade will be sorted out. This is something we have to work on together. You also have to take into consideration the more or less similarities of the African and Cuban economies as developing world characterised by very little export products, no infrastructure, poor countries… I think that the development of trade and investment is an outstanding subject in the relations with Africa.”

He said presently almost 4,000 Cuban professionals were working in Africa.

Rodriguez said 2,700 of them were in the health sector.

He said on the other hand almost 35,000 African youths have graduated in Cuban universities over the years.

Rodriguez said Cuba after 1959 fought side-by-side with African freedom fighters for independence in which 2,000 Cuban soldiers died.

He said relations between Cuba and Africa date five centuries ago when Africans were shipped to Cuba as slaves.

Rodriguez said with time, those Africans were involved directly in the Cuban independence wars.

“In 1868 one of our main patrons Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, on the 10th of October 1868, gave freedom to his slaves and together they started the first independence war in Cuba,’ he said. “Then you can say that the period between 1869 and 1959 when finally Cuba got its independence the participation of the descendants of the African slaves was fundamental in the struggle for the independence and sovereignty of Cuba. That is why we the Cubans have a feeling of extreme gratitude to Africa. We feel that we are the ones who are in debt to Africa because Africans played a very important role in the independence of Cuba and the formation of our nationality. It was logical that the first act in our foreign policy after 1959 was to help Africa. In 1990, when Namibia got its independence from the jaws of apartheid one of the first move by President Sam Nujoma was to establish diplomatic relations with Cuba. But I personally witnessed that in Pretoria on the 11 of May 1994 one of the first moves in foreign policy of Comrade Nelson Mandela in the free South Africa was establish relations with Cuba. I remember that because I was personally there.

And you remember that Madiba was inaugurated on the 10th of May and at 11:00 a.m the following day we signed diplomatic relations. There is a natural line since 1959 concerning Cuba and Africa. We have to say also that the first cooperation of Cuba abroad, the first action of cooperation abroad was with the African continent when in 1963 a medical brigade of Cuban doctors went to Algeria to help the combatants and fighters of Algeria to continue struggling for their independence and to help them in the health system. We started so well this line of protocol and friendship between Cuba and Africa and when you take into consideration that the Cuban revolution is going to be 51 years old this year there has been a constant line of priority of cooperation with Africa in all fields. We can talk about the historical event of Che Guevara in Congo, the former Zaire from April to November 1965. We were in Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Angola, Namibia, Mozambique, in Guinea Bissau… almost 300,000 Cubans participated in the struggle for Africa’s independence. Africa is a clear reflection of Cuba and vice versa. Today, there are 140 friendship associations with Cuba and 75 committees for the liberation of the Five Cubans in US prisons. These are great features. The issue is that there has been constant change of gratitude in our relations. What Africa did to our independence Cuba was doing it in the 20th century in Africa.”

Rodriguez said Cuba today had relations with all African countries except Morocco which suspended its diplomatic links.

Cuba has 30 embassies in Africa while there are 22 African missions based in Havana.

Rodriguez said it remained Cuba’s firm position and part of its foreign policy that Africa should have a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council.
He said it was abnormal that Africa with 53 countries and a population of 750 million had no permanent seat in the UNSC.