Cuba–Poland relations are the diplomatic relations between

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. Both nations are members of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

History

One of the first Polish migrants to arrive to Cuba was

Carlos Roloff Karol Rolow-Miałowski or Carlos Roloff Mialofsky, better known simply as Carlos Roloff, (4 November 1842 – 17 May 1907) was a Polish-born Cuban general and liberation activist, who fought against Spain in the Ten Years' War and the Cuban War o ...

who became a General in the Cuban War of Independence from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and fought alongside Cuban independence leader

José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) was a Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in the libera ...

. Between 1920 and 1928, several hundred Polish families arrived to Cuba, however for most of the migrants, Cuba was a stop-over to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

.La comunidad polaca en Cuba (in Spanish)
/ref> Around this time, 10,000 Polish

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

arrived to Cuba. In 1927, the "Union of Polish People" was founded in Cuba to serve the Polish community in the island-nation. In 1933, Cuba and Poland establish diplomatic relations. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Poland adopted a communist system of governance. In January 1959, Fidel Castro took power in Cuba and began to establish ties with communist nations. In 1960, both nations re-establish diplomatic relations and that same year, Cuba opened an embassy in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. In September 1960, President Fidel Castro met with Polish First Secretary

Władysław Gomułka Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish communist politician. He was the ''de facto'' leader of post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948. Following the Polish October he became leader again from 1956 to 1970. G ...

during the

summit in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. In 1962, Polish Foreign Minister Adam Rapacki visited Cuba becoming the first highest ranking Polish official to visit the country. In 1972, Cuban President Fidel Castro paid an official visit to Poland. In January 1975, head of the Polish government, First Secretary

Edward Gierek Edward Gierek (; 6 January 1913 – 29 July 2001) was a Polish Communist politician and ''de facto'' leader of Poland between 1970 and 1980. Gierek replaced Władysław Gomułka as First Secretary of the ruling Polish United Workers' Party (P ...

paid an official visit to Cuba. Cuba and Poland established strong diplomatic links during the Cold war. Between 1962 and 1988 more than 35 thousand Cubans studied in Poland. After the fall of communism in Poland in 1989, relations between the two nations nearly ceased as Poland aligned its interest with the United States. Between 1990 and 1995, most of the remaining Polish residents in Cuba returned to Poland or immigrated to the United States. In 2009, Poland's equality minister,

Elżbieta Radziszewska Elżbieta Radziszewska (born 6 January 1958 in Białocin) is a Polish politician. She was elected to the Sejm on 25 September 2005, getting 16,199 votes in the Piotrków Trybunalski electoral district, representing the Civic Platform Civic Pl ...

proposed to expand a Polish law prohibiting the production of fascist and totalitarian propaganda including images of Cuban revolutionary hero

Ernesto "Che" Guevara Ernesto Che Guevara (; 14 June 1928The date of birth recorded on /upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Ernesto_Guevara_Acta_de_Nacimiento.jpg his birth certificatewas 14 June 1928, although one tertiary source, (Julia Constenla, quoted ...

. In June 2017, Polish Foreign Minister

Witold Waszczykowski Witold Jan Waszczykowski (; born 5 May 1957) is a Polish politician. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs between 2015 and 2018. Waszczykowski was a Member of the Sejm (2011–2019), and has been the Member of the European Parliament since 2019 ...

paid an official visit to Cuba, becoming the first high ranking Polish official to visit the country in over 30 years.

High-level visits

High-level visits from Cuba to Poland * President Fidel Castro (1972) High-level visits from Poland to Cuba * Foreign Minister Adam Rapacki (1962) * First Secretary

(1975) * Foreign Minister

(2017)

Tourisim and transportation

In 2016, 40,000 Polish citizens visited Cuba for tourisim. There are direct charter flights between Cuba and Poland with LOT Polish Airlines.

Trade

In 2016, trade between Cuba and Poland totaled US$48.7 million. Cuba's main exports to Poland include: fish and other seafood, coffee, conserved fruit, alcoholic drinks and tobacco. Poland's main exports to Cuba include: dairy products, grains, meat, airplanes and parts and agricultural equipment.

Resident diplomatic missions

* Cuba has an embassy in

. * Poland has an embassy in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

.Embassy of Poland in Havana
/ref>

Bibliography

*''Stosunki dyplomatyczne Polski. Informator. Tom II Ameryka Północna i Południowa 1918-2007'', Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych, Archiwum/Wydawnictwo Askon Warszawa 2008, 224 s.,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuba-Poland

Bilateral relations of Poland