Topical question asked in the House of Commons, by Colin Burgon (Labour). It was answered on Tuesday, 19 May 2009 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Topical Questions

Question: Our foreign policy towards Cuba is that Ministers will not visit Cuba. The Minister will be aware that this month the Canadians sent their Foreign Minister, thus meaning that the Heads of State or Ministers of 16 countries have visited Cuba. Would the Minister be willing to meet a group of us who think that our current policy is wrong for the Cuban people and wrong for Britain, too?

Answer: I will be very happy to meet my hon. Friend and other hon. Members to discuss our policy on Cuba. Our policy is continually to develop good relations with Cuba, which we have. On the issue of ministerial visits, my hon. Friend knows that I would be delighted to visit Cuba, but the difficulty is that the Cuban authorities indicate that, regrettably, they feel it would not be appropriate for British Ministers to meet the Opposition. I hope the hon. Gentleman understands. Perhaps he could assist me with this, as we need to see some change in that situation to allow me or other British Ministers to visit Cuba, in line with the EU common position.

Secondary information