The Russian Deputy Prime Minister met in Havana with the architects of Cuba’s rapprochement with Russia
14ymedio, Havana, 9 November 2024 — “It’s the first time I see you in uniform,” was the greeting that – according to the official press – Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Chernyshenko gave Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel. In olive green, with freshly polished boots and crossed legs, the president replied: “We are at war against a hurricane.” “And we came to help,” the Moscow envoy replied.
In the dialogue, of which Cubadebate transcribed some fragments, Díaz-Canel thanked Chernyshenko for having stayed in Cuba despite the hurricane. “We are reviewing important bilateral agreements that strengthen our strategic relations,” the president told the press. These are eight agreements whose content was not revealed by either party.
The senior Russian official also announced the granting of a credit to Cuba of 60 million dollars for the purchase of 80,000 tons of fuel. In addition, he explained that an aid donation worth two million dollars has been allocated for the delivery of parts and repair components for the energy system through the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Ricardo Cabrisas participated in the meeting, a key man in the relations between Havana and Moscow and a person whom the official press defines as a “great friend of Russia”
They also examined issues of bilateral interest in the areas of economics and finance, energy, transport, agriculture, sugar production, science, technology, innovation and tourism. Chernyshenko participated in the meeting of the intergovernmental commission for economic, commercial and scientific-technical collaboration, which he headed together with Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas, a key man in relations between Havana and Moscow and whom the official press defines as a “great friend of Russia.”
For his part, Chernyshenko stressed the “strong work” carried out by the intergovernmental commission at the level of different ministries, agencies and also the businessmen to develop bilateral relations.
Chernyshenko arrived in Havana from Venezuela accompanied by a delegation that included the First Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Vasili Osmakov, the director of the Department of Public Debt and State Financial Assets of the Ministry of Finance, Denis Mamonov, and executives of the Ministries of Economic Development and Foreign Affairs.
On the Cuban side, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla participated, along with the Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Oscar Pérez Oliva-Fraga; the Cuban ambassador to Russia, Julio Garmendía Peña, and the first deputy minister of Foreign Trade, Carlos Luis Jorge Méndez.
His visit coincides with the serious effects caused by the recent impact of Hurricane Rafael
His visit coincides with the serious effects caused by the recent impact of Hurricane Rafael, category 3, which last Wednesday affected the western region of Cuba – including Havana – where it left considerable damage, including the total disconnection of the National Electric System (SEN).
The Cuban SEN is in a very precarious situation, which causes prolonged daily blackouts due to the lack of fuel and the frequent breakdowns in its obsolete thermoelectric plants, with more than 40 years of operation and a chronic deficit of investments. On October 17, a breakdown caused another total blackout in Cuba that lasted three days.
Chernyshenko and his delegation plan to attend a religious rite in the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Havana, Our Lady of Kazan, where they will give gifts to students of the Russian educational center in the capital.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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