Cuba: Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement

Lord Woodley Excerpts

Tuesday 25th March 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Woodley]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ratify the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement with Cuba.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Lord Collins of Highbury) (Lab)]

My Lords, the United Kingdom-Cuba Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement was signed in November 2023 under the previous Government. It is currently undergoing cross-government consultation and will be laid before Parliament for scrutiny in due course.

[Lord Woodley (Lab)]

My Lords, of course I warmly welcome that Answer from my noble friend the Minister, but as he will appreciate, every day is a terrible delay in terms of the suffering that it leaves the Cuban people in. Can I therefore press him further on when he anticipates that this agreement will be ratified, bearing in mind that, as he said, the previous Government travelled to Havana to sign it? I urge my noble friend to consider provisional implementation beforehand, in line with what the EU is doing, as a vital means of breaking the isolation of this very peaceful Caribbean island.