Relationship dossier
Cuba
Switzerland
Relationship assessment
Practical ties include Swiss protecting-power services in Cuba and development cooperation
Cuba toward Switzerland
+15The Cuban government has cooperated with Switzerland in the Swiss protecting-power arrangement for United States interests in Cuba, which operated for decades. This reflects practical engagement with Swiss diplomatic services, although the scope of other Cuban government cooperation with Switzerland is unclear.
Switzerland toward Cuba
+20Switzerland has provided diplomatic and consular services in Cuba and conducted development cooperation there. It also served for decades as protecting power for United States interests in Cuba, a practical diplomatic role involving the Cuban government.
Overall relationship
+20The relationship has included practical diplomatic cooperation, notably Switzerland’s long-running protecting-power role in Cuba, as well as Swiss development cooperation. These are durable but relatively focused elements; the breadth of wider bilateral collaboration is unclear.
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 Switzerland have maintained a functional relationship that includes Swiss diplomatic and consular services in Cuba and Switzerland’s long-running role as a protecting power for United States interests there. Switzerland has also conducted development cooperation in Cuba. These arrangements indicate practical cooperation, though the scope of broader bilateral collaboration is unclear.
Key developments
Switzerland’s mandate as protecting power for United States interests in Cuba ended when the United States and Cuba reopened their embassies.
Major uncertainties
- The scope of current bilateral cooperation beyond diplomatic and consular relations is unclear.
- Details of implementation and continuation of Swiss development cooperation in Cuba are limited.