India and Cuba established bilateral relations on January 12, 1960. India was one of the first countries to recognize the young Cuban Government, the result of the Revolution that triumphed on January 1, 1959. Both countries came from a long period of fight for national independence, so, from the first moment, the leaders of both countries identified themselves in the feeling of independence and in the search for a development model in line with the particular history, cultural and social identity of each one of our countries. Likewise, we share positions throughout this period in the international and multilateral arena against colonialism and the defense of the rights of peoples to independence and self-determination. This is how the foundations of cooperation, friendship, dialogue, respect and admiration are at the centre of bilateral ties.

Certainly, the visit of Ernesto Che Guevara to India, just six months after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, was a historic moment that opened the way for bilateral ties. Then in October 1959, Fidel Castro visited New York and, given the refusal of the United States Government to allow him to stay in the hotels designated for foreign official delegations, he stayed in the very humble “Teresa” hotel in the poor neighborhood of Harlem and Jawaharlal Nehru visited him there. About that meeting Fidel wrote: “The first person who came to see me was Prime Minister Nehru. I can never forget his magnificent gesture. I was 34 years of age, not widely known. I was tense. Nehru boosted my morale. My tension disappeared.”

-H.E. Mr. Alejandro Simancas Marin, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to India