The Caribbean Community (Caricom) and Cuba are celebrating 51 years since the establishment of their ties, further strengthened by the solidarity cooperation of the largest of the Antilles and the support of the bloc in the international arena.

Both parties celebrate the decision of Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Guyana and Jamaica to establish diplomatic relations with Havana in 1972 and break with the hostile isolation faced by that government after its revolutionary triumph in 1959.

This gesture paved the way for the other Caribbean territories to develop ties of friendship and collaboration with that sister nation and later, in 2002, led to the implementation of the Caricom-Cuba summit mechanism.

Precisely at that meeting, the heads of state and government of the integrationist bloc and Cuba agreed to institute this date to celebrate the beginning of their ties, considered a benchmark for other integrationist projects in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Such meetings are held every three years to examine and expand cooperation and integration projects in areas such as education, health, energy and trade, among others.

During its five decades of ties, Cuba has provided scholarships, technical aid, personnel and medical assistance in situations of natural disasters free of charge and a large number of its collaborators provide services in the Caricom states.

One of the most significant demonstrations of its solidarity was the deployment of more than 1,200 doctors in Haiti to combat the cholera epidemic that struck that Antillean nation in 2010, resulting in thousands of deaths and contagions.

For its part, the Caribbean grouping demands in all international events the immediate end of the financial, commercial and economic blockade that the United States has maintained against the island for more than half a century.

The eighth Caricom-Cuba summit took place last year in Barbados, and was another opportunity to outline the objectives to expand cooperation programs and strengthen the bonds of brotherhood.

The final text of the meeting highlighted, among several issues, that the partnership between the parties is an exemplary model of fruitful and mutually beneficial South-South cooperation.

In addition, October 6 was declared Caricom-Cuba Anti-Terrorism Day, in memory of the 73 victims of the bombing of a Cubana de Aviación aircraft in Barbados waters on that date in 1976.

The ninth edition of the summit will be held in Cuba in 2025.