Although the distance between Asia and Cuba is marked, this country’s relations with many of those nations are important, and should be expanded with the adherence to a friendship treaty with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
In effect, Cuba entered the ASEAN Friendship and Cooperation Treaty, made up of 10 countries and representing the seventh largest economy on the planet.
With nine percent of the world’s population, or more than 650 million people, ASEAN attracts the interest of industrialized countries.
The members of the Asian association consider a proposal from the United Kingdom to establish links and if they were to materialize, it would expand to 17 countries and blocs with a similar link.
For Cuba, entering the Friendship and Cooperation Treaty with ASEAN implies another step in its efforts to open up to the world and explore various aspects of cooperation, in the midst of an hard blockade of the United States and the damage caused by the pandemic caused by the COVID-19.
The Caribbean nation expanded its ties with the Asia-Pacific region in recent years after solidifying them with Laos, China and Vietnam, the latter two among its key trading partners.
With Cambodia, a member of ASEAN, it marks 60 years since the establishment of relations, a period in which doctors and educators worked in the distant nation.
This year it was reported that a joint venture formed by Cuba and Thailand, the latter member of ASEAN, announced the start of operations in that bloc to produce medicines.
As will be recalled, the President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has visited China, Vietnam and Laos, while promoting the active international cooperation of his country.
This has been the case up to now with ASEAN members, to whom Cuba has provided assistance in dealing with natural disasters, health, sports, and training of human resources.
For their part, the members of the prestigious regional organization, along with the majority of the international community, supported the resolutions of the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) to demand that the United States end the siege of Cuba.
In this context, promising prospects for exchange open up with the incorporation of Cuba to the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, all in search of the well-being of the peoples.
