Russia is betting big on Cuba as it courts alternative economic partners
ACN/Handout/Reuters
- Russia is expanding its economic and trade ties with Cuba, per TASS.
- Russia has been pivoting to alternative markets in the face of Western sanctions.
- Cuba — which has been sanctioned by the US for decades — has been in an economic crisis since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Russia has set its sights on broader economic and trade ties with Cuba.
Over 100 Russian companies have started operations in Cuba over the past year, Dmitry Chernyshenko, a Russian deputy prime minister, said on Friday, according to TASS state news agency.
The companies are involved in various sectors including heavy industry, energy, banking, agriculture, IT, and tourism, Chernyshenko said at an intergovernmental meeting between Russia and Cuba. He did not name any companies.
Some Russian banks are also considering opening representative offices in Cuba, Chernyshenko added. He did not name any banks but said the rollout of Russia's Mir card in Cuba last year was a milestone.
The developments will boost bilateral trade, he said.
"Cuba is a reliable Russia's ally," said Chernyshenko, according to an online post by the Russian government. "Today's meeting confirms the policy of strengthening Russian-Cuban relations."
Russia has pivoted to alternative markets
Chernyshenko's trumpeting of Russia's economic ties with Cuba comes two years after President Vladimir Putin's regime invaded Ukraine, triggering sweeping Western sanctions against Moscow.
The trade restrictions hit Russia's trade with Europe, traditionally its single largest market.
But Russia has managed to keep its economy humming by pivoting its trade to alternative markets including India, China, and Iran. It's even building rail lines to create what one analyst called "a trade route for the pariahs" with heavily sanctioned Iran.
Moscow is also aligning itself closer to Cuba, which was already an ally.
In November, Russia and Cuba inked an agreement for a trade and economic cooperation program that aims to strengthen ties between the two countries.
Despite the close relationship, Moscow-Havana ties appeared to show cracks in September when the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it was working to "neutralize and dismantle" a "human trafficking network" in Russia that was recruiting Cubans to fight the war in Ukraine.
A Reuters investigation published in the same month found that some poor Cubans who signed up to fight had been lured by Russian offers for signing bonuses and fast-track citizenships.
Cuba has been sanctioned by the US for decades. The country has been in an economic crisis since the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting many citizens to flee to the US. Cuba's inflation rate hit 30% in 2023 while food and medicine shortages are frequent, per media reports.
On Sunday, hundreds of people in Santiago — Cuba's second-largest city — staged a rare public protest against blackouts that stretched for 18 hours or more a day, Reuters reported.
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