Seoul/South Korea opened its Embassy in Cuba this week, the Seoul Foreign Ministry reported this Saturday, almost a year after both countries reestablished diplomatic relations to promote cooperation in fields such as energy, health and agriculture.
To commemorate the milestone, an opening ceremony was held at the facilities located in Miramar, Havana, on Friday, attended by the director general of the division of Central and South American affairs, Lee Joo-il, and the director General of the bilateral affairs section of the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Carlos Pereira, among others, Seoul detailed.
“We hope that the opening of the embassy will improve the comfort of our citizens residing or visiting Cuba by providing them with consular services and protection, and that it will contribute to expanding bilateral exchanges and cooperation,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Around thirty South Koreans live in the island country.
The opening of the embassy takes place before South Korea appoints its ambassador
The opening of the embassy takes place before South Korea appoints its ambassador. Cuba, for its part, has appointed Claudio Monzón Baeza as its envoy to the Asian country, where he assumed his position last week, pending the formal opening of the Cuban Embassy in Seoul in the coming months.
The diplomatic ties between South Korea and Cuba had been broken since 1959, mainly due to the long-standing fraternal relationship and alliance between the Island and North Korea, but in February 2024 both nations surprised with the announcement of the reestablishment of their diplomatic ties.
Since then, Seoul and Havana have been working to establish their diplomatic missions in their respective countries, and South Korea had established a temporary office and sent diplomats on an interim basis.
