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 Vanuatu |  Cuba |
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Relations between Vanuatu and Cuba began shortly after the former gained its independence from France and the United Kingdom in 1980, and began establishing its own foreign policy as a newly independent state. Vanuatu and Cuba established official diplomatic relations in 1983. [1]
Early Cuban-Vanuatu relations must be considered within the scope of Vanuatu's resolutely independent foreign policy. Rejecting alignment with the Western bloc during the late stages of the Cold War, Vanuatu joined the Non-Aligned Movement in 1983, and established diplomatic relations both with the Soviet Union and (a few months later) with the United States in 1986. [1]
In 1984, a Cuban diplomatic delegation visited Vanuatu, and E. Huffer suggests that this visit was instrumental in prompting the Asian Development Bank and ESCAP to open offices in Port-Vila shortly thereafter, "partly in an attempt to favour the integration of Vanuatu into the Western capitalist camp". [1]
Vanuatu was the birthplace of Melanesian socialism, a doctrine promoted by Prime Minister Father Walter Lini, combining socialism, Christianity and traditional Melanesian values, which gave Vanuatu and Cuba some degree of common ideological ground - although Melanesian socialism may be seen as closer to Christian communism than to Marxism. In 1983, however, ni-Vanuatu Foreign Minister Sela Molisa stated that Vanuatu's joining the Non-Aligned Movement was born of a wish for neutrality, and that "the ni-Vanuatu government and the Vanua'aku Pati do not adhere to any ideology". [1]
Lini lost office in 1991, and, under his successor Maxime Carlot Korman, his country's policy of engaging with countries viewed with suspicion by the West -notably Cuba, Libya and the Soviet Union- was allowed to fade. [2]
More recently, in the 2000s, quasi-dormant relations between the two countries have been revived, in the context of Cuba's regional engagement in the Pacific. Cuba currently provides medical aid to Vanuatu and other countries in Oceania. As of September 2008, seventeen ni-Vanuatu are studying medicine in Cuba, with their expenses paid for by the Cuban government, [3] and Cuban doctors are serving in Vanuatu. [4] A representative of Vanuatu attended a multilateral Cuba-Pacific ministerial meeting in Havana in September 2008, where attendees discussed "strengthening co-operation in health, sports and education", and where Cuban authorities pledged to assist Pacific countries in coping with the effects of climate change. [5] [6]
Vanuatu, officially the Republic of Vanuatu, is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is 1,750 kilometres (1,090 mi) east of northern Australia, 540 kilometres (340 mi) northeast of New Caledonia, east of New Guinea, southeast of the Solomon Islands, and west of Fiji.
The politics of Vanuatu take place within the framework of a constitutional democracy. The constitution provides for a representative parliamentary system. The head of the Republic is an elected President. The Prime Minister of Vanuatu is the head of government.
Vanuatu maintains diplomatic relations with many countries, and has a small network of diplomatic missions. Australia, France, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the People's Republic of China and the United Kingdom maintain embassies, High Commissions, or missions in Port Vila. The British High Commission maintained a continued presence for almost a century, though closed from 2005 until reopening in 2019.
Papua New Guinea's foreign policy reflects close ties with Australia and other traditional allies and cooperative relations with neighboring countries. Its views on international political and economic issues are generally moderate. Papua New Guinea has diplomatic relations with 56 countries.
The Samoan Government is generally conservative and pro-Western, with a strong interest in regional political and economic issues. Samoa participated in a first round of negotiations with its Pacific Island neighbors for a regional trade agreement in August 2000. In January 2009, Samoa opened embassies in China and Japan.
Walter Hadye Lin̄i was a Raga Anglican priest and the first Prime Minister of Vanuatu, from independence in 1980 to 1991. He was born on Pentecost Island. During the era when Vanuatu was a condominium ruled by the United Kingdom and France, Lin̄i formed the Vanua'aku Pati, which was principally backed by English-speakers. He became the colony's Chief Minister in 1979 and ascended to the position of Prime Minister upon Vanuatu's independence in 1980.
The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) is an intergovernmental organization, composed of the four Melanesian states of Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, and the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front of New Caledonia. In June 2015, Indonesia was recognized as an associate member.
The concept of Melanesian socialism was first advocated by Father Walter Lini of the New Hebrides, who became the country's first Prime Minister upon its independence from France and the United Kingdom in 1980. Lini's views on socialism were inspired by Julius Nyerere's experiments in African socialism in Tanzania.
Oceania is, to the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China, a stage for continuous diplomatic competition. The PRC dictates that no state can have diplomatic relations with both the PRC and the ROC. As of 2019, ten states in Oceania have diplomatic relations with the PRC, and four have diplomatic relations with the ROC. These numbers fluctuate as Pacific Island nations re-evaluate their foreign policies, and occasionally shift diplomatic recognition between Beijing and Taipei. The issue of which "Chinese" government to recognize has become a central theme in the elections of numerous Pacific Island nations, and has led to several votes of no-confidence.
The United States and Vanuatu established diplomatic relations on September 30, 1986 - three months to the day after Vanuatu had established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. Relations were often tense in the 1980s, under the prime ministership of Father Walter Lini in Vanuatu, but eased after that. At present, bilateral relations consist primarily in US aid to Vanuatu, and are cordial.
Cuban-Pacific relations are diplomatic, economic, cultural and other relations between the Republic of Cuba and countries situated in Oceania. In the 2000s, Cuba has been strengthening its relations with Pacific nations, which have, for the most part, responded favourably to Cuban medical aid in particular. The first Cuba-Pacific Islands ministerial meeting was held in September 2008 in Havana, with government members from ten Pacific countries—Kiribati, Tuvalu, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia and Papua New Guinea—attending. The meeting was a consolidation rather than a starting point of Cuban-Pacific relations.
The Republic of Vanuatu and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics established official diplomatic relations on 30 June 1986 - three months to the day before Vanuatu established diplomatic relations with the United States.
Tonga and the Soviet Union established formal diplomatic relations in 1976. Tonga was the first Pacific Island country to establish relations with the USSR.
Libya–Vanuatu relations refer to foreign relations between Vanuatu and Libya. They established official diplomatic relations in 1986, at the initiative of the former. The aim, for Vanuatu, was twofold: first, to obtain access to favourable economic relations with a major oil-producing country, and second, to strengthen its policy of non-alignment by establishing relations with a notable country not aligned with the Western Bloc. Vanuatu's foreign policy in the 1980s, under Prime Minister Father Walter Lini, was based on refusing alignment with either bloc in the context of the Cold War, distinguishing it from every other country of Oceania, aligned with the West. Time magazine described Libya's reasons for establishing relations with Vanuatu as "unclear", suggesting that it might simply wish to "irritate the U.S. and France". Vanuatu's relations with both France and the United States were strained at the time.
The French Republic and the Republic of Vanuatu have long-standing bilateral relations which have varied over the years between tense and amicable. Vanuatu, then known as the New Hebrides, was a Franco-British condominium from 1906 to 1980, and maintained formal relations with both of its former colonial masters after gaining independence. Franco–Vanuatuan relations were rocked by a series of crises in the 1980s, and broke down completely on several occasions, with Vanuatu expelling the French ambassador in 1981, in 1984 and in 1987. Relations improved from the 1990s onwards and, today, France provides development aid to Vanuatu. The two countries also share amicable economic and cultural relations; both are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.
The Republic of Vanuatu has been a member of the United Nations since the year of its independence in 1980. The country was a particularly active member in the 1980s, when, governed by Prime Minister Father Walter Lini and represented by Ambassador Robert Van Lierop, it was a consistent advocate for decolonisation. Subsequently, its emphasis within the United Nations shifted to the issue of climate change and the vulnerability of Small Island Developing States.
The Kingdom of Tonga and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics established formal diplomatic relations in 1976. Tonga was the first Pacific Island country to establish relations with the USSR. The USSR was dissolved in 1991 and was succeeded by the Russian Federation as the successor state.
The Republic of Vanuatu and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics established official diplomatic relations on June 30, 1986 - three months to the day before Vanuatu established diplomatic relations with the United States. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian Federation emerged as its successor state in 1991.
Gilbert Đinh Văn Thân, more commonly known as Đinh Văn Thân, is a ni-Vanuatu "prominent businessman" and former politician. Ron Crocombe described him in 2007 as "perhaps the wealthiest entrepreneur and largest private employer in Vanuatu and many say the most politically influential [...] citizen".
India–Vanuatu relations are bilateral relations between the Republic of India and the Republic of Vanuatu. The Indian High Commission in Suva, Fiji is jointly accredited to Vanuatu. Formal relations between the two countries began in 1986, after then prime minister Walter Lini joined the Non-Aligned Movement in 1983.
Representatives from Kiribati, Tuvalu, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, Samoa, Micronesia and Papua New Guinea are attending the first Cuba-Pacific Islands ministerial meeting that ends on Thursday.
Perez Roque expressed Cuba's special interest in helping small developing islands which are threatened to be submerged by the ocean as a result of climate change.
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