Cuba–Namibia relations refer to the current and historical relationship

Bilateralism

Bilateralism consists of the political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. For example, free trade agreements signed by two states are examples of bilateral treaties. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which refers to the conduct of diplomacy by a...

 between Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 and Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

. Cuba politically, militarily and diplomatically supported the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) during the Namibian War of Independence

Namibian War of Independence

See also South African Border War.The Namibian War of Independence, also known as the South African Border War, which lasted from 1966 to 1988, was a guerrilla war, which the nationalist South-West Africa People's Organization and others, fought against the apartheid government in South...

. SWAPO fought against the military of apartheid South Africa. Cuba deployed more than 350,000 troops to Africa to aid the independence movements in Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

 and Namibia, among other causes. Approximately 2,000 Cubans died in the independence struggle in the region. As a result of this involvement Namibia usually supports Cuban policies on the international level, like in the case of the requested release of the Cuban Five

Cuban Five

The Cuban Five, also known as the Miami Five are five Cuban intelligence officers convicted in Miami of conspiracy to commit espionage, conspiracy to commit murder, and other illegal activities in the United States...

.

Since independence in 1990, the Republic of Namibia and Cuba have held joint meetings every two years for economic, scientific-technical and commercial cooperation. In 2005, it was reported that 1,460 Cuban professionals had worked in Namibia, including 208 in 2005.

Aid

Cuba's aid policy focuses on sending medical doctors and other professionals to aid development in other countries, particularly in Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. In 1998, fifty-five Cuban medical doctors were practicing as part of this aid program in Namibia. Cuba also was home to a number of students from Namibia, both prior to and after independence. at least 2,000 Namibians have graduated from a Cuban institution. In June 2007, The Namibian

The Namibian

The Namibian is a the largest daily newspaper in Namibia. It publishes in English and Oshiwambo.-History:It was established by Gwen Lister in 1985 as a weekly newspaper reliant on support of donors, which aimed to promote Namibian independence from South Africa. Its first edition appeared on 30...

 reported that 11 Cuban doctors sent to Namibia as part of the aid program were trying to obtain emergency travel documents from the United States embassy and move permanently to that country.

Visits

In June 2008, Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia

National Assembly of Namibia

The National Assembly of Namibia is the lower chamber of the country's bicameral Parliament. It has a total of 78 members. 72 members are directly elected through a system of party-list proportional representation and serve five-year terms. Six additional members are appointed by the President.The...

, Theo-Ben Gurirab

Theo-Ben Gurirab

Theo-Ben Gurirab is a Namibian politician who has been the Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia since 2005; previously he was Prime Minister of Namibia from August 27, 2002 to March 19, 2005.-Political career:...

, visited Cuba. In return, Cuban first deputy foreign minister

Foreign minister

A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...

 Bruno Rodriguez Padilla visited Namibia at the end of the same month, during which time he met with several high level politicians including Gurirab, Lempy Lucas

Lempy Lucas

Lempy Lucas is a Namibian politician. A member of the National Assembly since 2000, Lucas is a member of the South West Africa People's Organization . She has also been the Deputy Foreign Minister of Namibia since replacing Kaire Mbuende in 2004...

, Joel Kaapanda

Joel Kaapanda

Joel N. Kaapanda is a Namibian politician. A member of the South West Africa People's Organization , Kaapanda has been a member of the National Assembly of Namibia since November 2002 and the Minister of Information and Communication Technology since March 2005...

, past President Sam Nujoma

Sam Nujoma

Samuel Daniel Shafiishuna Nujoma is a Namibian politician who was the first President of Namibia from 1990 to 2005. He led the South-West Africa People's Organisation in its long struggle against South African rule and took office as President when Namibia obtained independence on 21 March 1990...

 and current President Hifikepunye Pohamba

Hifikepunye Pohamba

Hifikepunye Lucas Pohamba is the second and current President of Namibia. He won the 2004 and 2009 presidential elections overwhelmingly as the candidate of the South West Africa People's Organisation ruling party, taking office in March 2005. He has also been the President of SWAPO since...

. During the meetings, each side agreed to continue strengthening bilateral relations.