FORMER Cuban President Fidel Castro passed away on Friday evening after several years of illness. He was diagnosed with an intestinal ailment in 2006 and two years later, he formally handed over power to his brother Raul Castro.
This year, Cuba and Guyana celebrated 43 years of diplomatic relations. The following is a chronological timeline of the relations the Spanish-speaking country shares with Guyana.
December 8, 1972 – Agreement between the government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Cuba on the establishment of diplomatic relations.

July 26, 1973 –Agreement between the government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Cuba for air services between and beyond their respective territories.
September 1973 – On the weekend of Saturday September 1 that year, Cuba’s President Dr Fidel Castro arrived in Guyana to hundreds of well-wishers who lined the streets, waving flags of both countries as they welcomed the revolutionary leader. Castro, who was received by Prime Minister Forbes Burnham at the Timehri airport was so excited on his arrival that on the way from the airport , the two leaders stopped at Diamond on the East Bank of Demerara and engaged in animated conversations on the sugar industry .

September 15, 1973-Instrument of Ratification – Establishment of Air Services between Guyana and Cuba under the July 1973 agreement.
April 13, 1975 – As relations between the two countries strengthened, Prime Minister Burnham reciprocated a visit to Cuba. He was decorated with the José Martí National Order, Cuba’s highest honour.
November 10, 1975 –Work Programme for 1976 agreed at the first session of the Guyana-Cuba Mixed Commission on Education and Cultural Cooperation.
May 30, 1982-Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba.
May 20, 1986-Memorandum of Cooperation between the Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Republic of Cuba extended.

November 10, 1993-Joint official statement issued at the conclusion of the official State visit of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana by His Excellency Roberto Rabina Gonzalez, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba .
November 11, 1993-Agreement between the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Republic of Cuba in the struggle against international trafficking in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
August 3, 1995-Final Act completed of the 18th session of the Mixed Cuba-Guyana Commission
November 21, 1998-Agreement of collaboration between the Guyana Export Promotion Council and the Center for Export Promotion of Cuba. On that day also, the Aide Memoire of the Review of the Guyana –Cuba Joint Commission was completed in Georgetown.

October 2001- Former President Bharrat Jagdeo during a state visit to Cuba , secured scholarships for 350 students under the Cuban Scholarship programme to pursue degrees in Medicine, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Culture, Sport, Agriculture, Architecture and other areas of study under the joint auspices of the Guyana and Cuban Governments.
February 1-3, 2006 – A state-of-the-art ophthalmology centre, diagnostic centres, 965 scholarships for Guyanese, more doctors, specialists for the sugar industry, and instructors for local medical programmes were some of the benefits to be derived from President Bharrat Jagdeo’s visit to Cuba
October 18,2012 –Sports Cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the National Institute of Sports , Physical Education and Recreation of the Republic of Cuba.

October 19, 2012 – Agreement of Cooperation between the Ministry of Health of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Ministry of Public Health of the Republic of Cuba.
October 15, 2015-Abolition of the visa requirement for nationals of Cuba travelling to Guyana on Diplomatic or Official passports for the purposes of business or tourism.
March 9, 2016 – Halim Majeed who was appointed to head Guyana’s Diplomatic Mission in Cuba , departed for the Caribbean island . In a brief comment, Majeed said that upon his arrival in Cuba, one of his first tasks will be to conduct a thorough evaluation of the work of Guyana’s embassy there, as well as the current status of relations between the two countries, specifically examining the various development programmes currently in operation.

April 6, 2016 – President David Granger and Cuba’s Ambassador to Guyana, Julio César González Marchante met at the Ministry of the Presidency, where they discussed the way forward on a tripartite agreement for a project designed to enhance the quality of life for children and youths with disabilities.
Through the regional project, Cuba will provide technical assistance, Guyana will be the host country/home of the centre and CARICOM will be the link, through which other regional jurisdictions will benefit. The programme is nearing fruition.