Relationship dossier
Cuba
Italy
Relationship assessment
Cuba and Italy maintain cooperative ties, supported by high-level engagement and bilateral agreements.
Cuba toward Italy
+35The Cuban government has engaged Italian leaders in high-level talks and concluded bilateral cooperation arrangements, including agreements associated with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s 2015 visit to Havana.
Italy toward Cuba
+35The Italian government has pursued high-level engagement with Cuba and concluded bilateral cooperation arrangements. Italy also participated in the 2015 Paris Club agreement restructuring Cuba’s debt to creditor countries.
Overall relationship
+35The relationship combines sustained diplomatic engagement with practical cooperation, including bilateral agreements and Italy’s participation in Cuba’s creditor-debt settlement. These features support a cooperative overall relationship, although the scale and continuity of specific programs are uncertain.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Cuba and Italy have maintained cooperative government relations, including high-level visits and bilateral agreements covering areas such as political consultation and cultural cooperation. Italy has also engaged Cuba through debt restructuring and cooperation following the 2014–2015 normalization of Cuba’s relations with its creditors. These ties indicate practical cooperation, though the scope and continuity of specific bilateral programs are not fully clear.
Key developments
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi visited Cuba and met Cuban President Raúl Castro; the visit included bilateral cooperation agreements.
Italy participated in the Paris Club agreement restructuring Cuba’s debt to creditor countries.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral cooperation agreements are unclear.
- The extent of ongoing Italian development and economic cooperation with Cuba is uncertain.