Historic visit to Cuba by French Foreign Minister

The political opening is expected to open up strong economic cooperation between Cuba and France as well as the EU.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius made a historic visit to Cuba over the weekend. The visit by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius marks the first time a senior French official has visited the Latin American island nation in 31 years..

French Foreign Minister Fabius and Cuban Foreign Minister Parilla (photo: VOA)

The visit comes after Cuba and the European Union agreed to start negotiations on normalizing relations between the two sides. The French foreign minister did not aim to sign a document that would serve as a basis for future cooperation, but it is a sign that not only France but also the European Union is ready for further concrete steps to improve relations with Cuba.

French Engine

First of all, this visit of French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius to Cuba must be placed in the context of the significant improvement in relations between Cuba and the European Union (EU) in recent times. The two sides have begun promoting cooperation exchanges since the beginning of this year.

For its part, France of course has its own calculations for this trip. Mr. Fabius said in Cuba that France recognized Cuba's "spectacular changes in implementing economic and social reforms" and he said that Cuba is a "friend" of France and that even though there are many disagreements, the two sides can still talk to each other.

In fact, besides the political significance, such as being the first French Minister to visit Cuba in 31 years, Mr. Fabius's trip also has a very important purpose of economic cooperation. We all know that after the recent cabinet reshuffle in France, Mr. Fabius is now not only in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but also in charge of the French Foreign Trade sector. Mr. Fabius himself has repeatedly stated that economic diplomacy will be a major priority for him in the coming time. Therefore, this can also be considered Mr. Fabius's trip in his position as the head of French Foreign Trade.

France wants to promote economic relations with Cuba. Despite the US embargo, there are currently about 60 French companies doing business in Cuba and with the prospect of reform in Cuba, French investors are looking forward to investment opportunities in Cuba. French businesses are particularly interested in the project to build a special economic zone in Cuba in the deep-water port of Mariel, so Mr. Fabius's trip is considered to be to take advantage of that opportunity. In addition, it is necessary to mention the overall economic diplomacy strategy of France in the Latin American and Caribbean region. Before going to Cuba, Mr. Fabius accompanied the French President to visit Mexico to sign a "strategic partnership" and 41 economic contracts. France is paying great attention to economic relations with countries in this region, including Cuba.

Moving towards normalization of bilateral relations

Taking place in the context of the European Union sending a signal of wanting to promote cooperation with Cuba and being reciprocated by Cuba last March, this visit to Cuba by the French Foreign Minister could be the start of the negotiation process between the European Union and Cuba to move towards normalizing relations between the two sides.

This is something both sides are looking forward to. During his trip to Cuba, the French Foreign Minister stated that “Cuba has no problem that cannot be reconciled with France.” France is the leading important power in Europe, so this French position is also considered as part of the European position.

Mr. Fabius said that he welcomed the outcome of the Latin American and Caribbean Summit (CELAC), in which the majority of countries supported Cuba and asked the US to lift the embargo. In fact, relations between Cuba and the EU have been initiated since 2008 with dialogue in many areas.

In March 2014, Cuba agreed to the EU's proposal to start discussions on a new bilateral political agreement. If these discussions progress, it is expected that by 2015, the two sides will be able to move on to discussing trade and investment agreements. Therefore, this trip of the French Foreign Minister is considered a new step to lay the foundation for future discussions.

The intention of Europe, through France, is that before political discussions begin, the two sides can cooperate to better understand each other through joint projects such as implementing humanitarian medical activities in Africa, an area in which Cuba has strengths. Both sides benefit if relations improve. Cuba needs foreign investment. Currently, foreign investment in Cuba accounts for only about 8% of the country's GDP, while according to calculations, if Cuba wants to achieve a growth rate of 6-8%/year, it needs a foreign investment rate of 25-30% of GDP. On the contrary, EU businesses are also looking forward to the opportunity to invest in a market that is almost completely new but has great potential in tourism, shipping and healthcare like Cuba.

Exploratory Trip

Western media have made it clear that during this visit, France and Cuba have no intention of signing any agreement. This trip by Mr. Laurent Fabius is a trip of political significance. It puts an end to the diplomatic distance between the two sides for many years and lays the foundation for future dialogue.

There are still many differences between Cuba and the EU, especially in politics, so we cannot expect immediate economic cooperation until the political problems between the two sides are resolved. The two sides have set a specific roadmap and this trip by Mr. Fabius is to push that roadmap in the right direction and to go faster.

Once political dialogue yields results, there will certainly be economic cooperation. For example, France currently has a foreign trade turnover with Cuba of 280 million euros, if the relationship progresses, the number will be many times that. France and many European countries, such as Spain, are very interested in economic cooperation with Cuba, but this cooperation must be cleared politically, in this case, the reform roadmap of Cuba as well as the commitments that the two sides make to each other. In addition, we cannot fail to mention the role of the United States in this process. The United States is still embargoed against Cuba, so if the EU wants to do anything with Cuba, a small country located right next to the United States, it will have to be cautious and probe the attitude of the United States, its most powerful and important ally./.

According to VOV