To their mutual benefit
Analysis
Cuba, Russia seek to renew links, regain losses
By Emilio Paz
Russia is going to try to recover at least part of its losses in Cuba, and the Cuban government will try to attract, increase and maintain Russian investments on the island.
At least, that’s the impression made on this observer by events in Moscow this week and reinforced in part by an article in the Russian magazine Nezavisimaya Gazeta.
The article summarizes the conditions that forced the Soviet Union to abandon its presence in Cuba in the early 1990s and notes that Russia has not been able to recover all the investments it made on the island. That is why Moscow is so interested in expanding its economic contacts with Havana.
That is also why Russian companies are interested in investing in the search for oil in Cuban waters and contributing to the modernization of the energy industry. For example, the oil company Zarubeshneft plans to invest $2.9 billion between now and the year 2025, while the energy giant Inter-RAO plans to establish a joint venture with Unión Eléctrica to modernize the thermal energy plant in the port city of Mariel.
For its part, Cuba needs foreign investment, which explains Raúl Castro’s swing through Beijing, Hanoi and Moscow. The importance of that mission is revealed by the fact that Castro himself headed the Cuban delegation and met with the presidents of all three countries.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta (NG) interviewed the director of the Latin American Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Davydov, who pointed out that “the worsening of the economic situation in Europe inevitably affects the Cuban economy. Cuba needs more points of support, which it’s trying to find in Moscow.”
“Besides,” Davydov adds, “Russia has entered into a new political cycle, and Havana believes it opportune to establish contacts with the new faces in our government.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin was not speaking idly when he told Castro that Russian-Cuban relations “have become more pragmatic.” Nor was Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev, when he said that “we must exploit the potential of our relations in a very careful and rational manner [with] regular consultations about all issues.” (Emphasis mine.)
The subtext is that any joint project – in order to be successful – must be taken very seriously by both parties.
In that sense, Davydov insists on the importance of details and contracts. In his interview with NG, the Russian expert says:
“Recently, Moscow and Havana made a lot of political decisions, signing many accords that encompass practically all the areas of cooperation. But, where is the mechanism that will permit them to achieve the objectives established in the contracts and memoranda? Its absence is the weakest point in the relations between Russia and Cuba.”
“The parties must participate actively so as to create an effective mechanism of cooperation,” Davydov said. “We’re talking about cash credit, insurance, transport, customs and other values. […] In addition, the parties are not always punctual when it comes to meeting their obligations. Therefore, government control is also necessary. While in Cuba [that control] is easier to obtain, it is not always possible on our side.”
Clearly, a firm hand is needed to enforce all commitments, another condition that Castro has stressed quite often.
As Granma reported on Thursday the 12th, Castro described his visit to Russia as “intense and useful.” “We live in a world that’s very complex for various reasons and it is fair that, in light of the new situations, we review the issues discussed in [my] previous visit in 2009,” the president said.
It will be interesting to hear Castro’s account of his tour to the National Assembly on July 23.
Emilio Paz is an observer of the situation in Cuba. He lives in Miami.
