Key dates
On March 24, 1992, between Kazakhstan and Cuba were established diplomatic relations.
In 1993, the Cuban Embassy in the Republic of Kazakhstan was opened in Almaty, which was relocated to Astana in 1999.
In 2003, the Diplomatic Mission of the Republic of Kazakhstan was opened in the Republic of Cuba.
On April 1, 2021, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev signed a Decree on the transformation of the Diplomatic mission into the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Cuba.
Since January 2022, Oscar Santana Leon has been the Cuban Ambassador to the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Since March 15, 2022, Andrian Yelemesov has been the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Republic of Cuba.
Political dialogue
The basis of bilateral cooperation between the countries was laid by contacts at the highest and high levels. An important step in bilateral cooperation was the official visit of the First President Nursultan Nazarbayev to Cuba on April 2, 2016, during the which negotiations were held with the Chairman of the State Council and the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cuba, Raul Castro.
The Foreign Ministers of Kazakhstan and Cuba met on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York city in 2013 and 2018. Since 2011, inter-MFA political consultations have been held at the level of deputy foreign ministers. Kazakhstan and Cuba actively cooperate within the framework of international organizations, primarily the UN, providing mutual support for each other's initiatives and proposals at international forums.
Trade and economic cooperation
Against the backdrop of a constructive political dialogue, there
is a potential for the development of bilateral cooperation in the trade and economic sphere.
Since 2008, the volume of bilateral trade has been formed mainly because of imports from Cuba to the Republic of Kazakhstan, while its main items include cane sugar, cigars, and ethyl alcohol.
The volume of mutual trade in 2022 amounted to 510.5 thousand dollars, including export - 0.39 thousand dollars, and import - 510.2 thousand dollars.
On October 12, 2022, the 1st meeting between the Foreign Trade Chamber of Kazakhstan and the Cuban Chamber of Commerce was held via videoconference to discuss the development of bilateral relations in the fields of biopharmaceutics, medicine and tourism.
One of the most perspective areas of bilateral cooperation is healthcare, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.
Cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian sphere
The Embassy of Kazakhstan in Cuba regularly holds cultural events aimed at strengthening bilateral relations.
The development of the dialogue was facilitated by holding the international specialized exhibition EXPO-2017 in Kazakhstan, at which Cuba was represented in the pavilion of Latin America. As part of the EXPO, Orlando Hernandez, President of the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, visited Kazakhstan.
Astana and Havana are poised to strengthen cooperation in the field of sports and culture. A fruitful partnership has developed between the boxing federations of Kazakhstan and Cuba. In 2014, an Agreement was signed in Astana between the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Sports and Physical Culture and the National Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation of Cuba on cooperation in the field of sports.
Legal framework
Currently, the bilateral legal framework consists of 14 documents, including the Agreement on cooperation in the field of science and culture (1995) and the Agreement on trade and economic cooperation (2008, entered into force in 2009).