First Deputy Minister Marcelino Medina González of the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in Canada this week leading a Cuban delegation to attend the annual political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Cuba and Global Affairs Canada. The First Deputy Minister’s visit coincides with the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Canada and Cuba.
Marcelino Medina González, a career diplomat, was appointed First Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba in 2009.
Minister Medina began his career as a Specialist at the Europe Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1984. Between 1986 and 1991, he was Third and Second Secretary at the Embassy of Cuba in Germany. In 1991 to 1993, he returned to Cuba to work at the Europe Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the years 1994 to 1996, he held positions as Counsellor at the Embassy of Cuba in Bonn, and as Counsellor and Head of the Diplomatic Office in Berlin. In 1996, he became the Deputy Director and later the Director of the Europe Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until 2000.
From 2001 to 2005, Minister Medina was the Cuban Ambassador to Germany. After his post as the Ambassador, he served as Deputy Director and then Deputy Minister at Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Minister Medina holds a Bachelor of International Relations from the Raúl Roa García Higher and Institute of International Relations, and a Master’s Degree from the National Defence College (1993). He speaks Spanish, German, English and French. He is married and has two daughters.
Cuba Business Report: Welcome to Ottawa, Canada, Minister Medina, good morning. Thank you for taking the time to speak with Cuba Business Report.
How would you characterize the Cuba-Canada relationship in your own words?
First Deputy Minister Marcelino Medina González:
Cuba and Canada have enjoyed long-lasting positive relations. Strong people-to-people ties have developed over the years. Our relationship is a good example of the links that can exist between two countries with different political, social and economic systems at different stages of their development. Relations between Canada and Cuba have historically been an example of mutual respect and mutual benefit. Cuba and Canada maintain a respectful bilateral dialogue, even when dealing with issues in which we have different approaches, but which are of common concern. The exchange of visits between the two Foreign Ministers during the last year shows that dialogue is the most effective way to deal with those issues that we do not agree on.
Cuba Business Report: Have you seen a strengthening of the bilateral relationship between Cuba and Canada over recent years?
First Deputy Minister Medina:
Cuba-Canada relations have considerably developed in the last years. Diplomatic and commercial ties have grown stronger. Canada is an important partner for Cuba. It has consolidated over the years as our main tourism issuing market, the second investor and the fourth trading partner. It is also one of our main providers of development cooperation in priority sectors for our country. On the other hand, Cuba is the fifth preferred international destination of Canadians and the second-largest market for Canada in the subregion of Central America and the Caribbean. Several Canadian companies have significant investments in the mining, energy, oil and gas, agri-food and tourism industries.
The existing high-level dialogue has been strengthened through several government visits in both directions, including those of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, and with the institutionalization of the annual bilateral consultations four years ago. Three Canadian Prime Ministers, Pierre Trudeau (1976), Jean Chretien (1998) and Justin Trudeau (2016), have visited Cuba.
Cuba Business Report: On the subject of strengthening Cuba-Canada relations: In your opinion, is there room to further build the relationship? How would you like to see this relationship develop in the future?
First Deputy Minister Medina:
Cuba looks forward to seeing Canada becoming a key player in the development of its economy in the coming years. Cuba hopes to keep counting on Canada’s support in the future to continue facing the difficult conditions imposed by US unilateral coercive measures on its economy. At the same time, we would like to go back shortly to a fully-staffed Canadian Embassy in Havana, in correspondence with the ties that bind us.
There are conditions for this to happen, given the stability in our bilateral relations and the business opportunities that the Canadian and the Cuban market offer today.
Cuba Business Report: Do you have plans to meet with the Quebec government and the province’s business groups on this visit?
First Deputy Minister Medina:
The relation with the province of Québec has strengthened in the last years. There is a Québec-Cuba Working Group and a Québec office in Havana for the promotion of its culture and mutually beneficial links. Québec companies have a permanent presence in the Cuban market. About 40 cooperation projects funded by the provincial government have been implemented in various fields in the Cuban market. The presence of Quebec tourists among the Canadians who visit Cuba is overwhelming. That’s why I cannot come to Canada without stopping by Quebec.
Cuba Business Report: Can you share what you hope to discuss with your Canadian counterparts? What is currently on the table for discussion? Will you, for instance, be discussing contemporary issues such as Canada’s position vis-a-vis Helms-Burton Title III, Latin America, or perhaps the Canadian embassy services in Havana?
First Deputy Minister Medina:
We intend to exchange with the Global Affairs authorities about the historical links between both countries, which arrive this year to the 75th anniversary. We’ll also address various multilateral, regional and international issues of common interest. I will thank on behalf of my Government the traditional support of Canada to the resolution that Cuba presents at the General Assembly of the United Nations calling for the lifting of the US blockade, as well as Canada’s firm position against the application of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act and in favour of Canadian companies that might be affected. We will discuss about the way to expand and strengthen political dialogue and links in various sectors of mutual interest and benefit.
Cuba Business Report: Thank you, Your Excellency, for taking the time to speak with Cuba Business Report and enlightening our readers on the longstanding Cuba-Canada relationship. I hope it has not been too cold for you and that you have the chance to see some of the National Capital Region.
