Relationship dossier
Cuba
United Kingdom
Relationship assessment
Modest cooperation on debt and diplomacy, alongside British criticism of restrictions on political freedoms in Cuba.
Cuba toward United Kingdom
+20Cuba participated in the 2015 Paris Club agreement to settle arrears to official creditors, including the United Kingdom, establishing a concrete basis for financial cooperation.
United Kingdom toward Cuba
+20The United Kingdom supported United Nations General Assembly calls for an end to the US embargo on Cuba and participated as a creditor in the 2015 Paris Club debt agreement. British criticism of restrictions on political freedoms remains a source of friction.
Overall relationship
+20The relationship includes practical financial cooperation through the 2015 debt settlement and UK support for ending the US embargo, but is not a close partnership. British criticism of political restrictions in Cuba limits the extent of alignment.
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 the United Kingdom maintain modest practical cooperation, including a 2015 debt-restructuring agreement under which Cuba settled arrears with official creditors, including the UK. The UK has also supported United Nations General Assembly calls to end the US embargo on Cuba. Cooperation coexists with British criticism of restrictions on political freedoms in Cuba.
Areas of tension
- British criticism of restrictions on political freedoms in Cuba.
Key developments
Cuba reached a Paris Club agreement to settle arrears to official creditors, including the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom supported a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for an end to the US embargo on Cuba.
Major uncertainties
- The extent of continuing bilateral cooperation beyond debt and diplomatic engagement is unclear.
- The practical implementation and current scope of bilateral economic arrangements are unclear.