IN honour of Ambassador Dr. Jose Fernandez de Cossio, the Cuban diplomat who signed the instrument establishing diplomatic relations between Guyana and Cuba 50 years ago, the Guyana Embassy recently hosted a special dinner at the San Cristobal Restaurant in Old Havana.

Dr. de Cossio, now 89 years old, signed the instrument on December 8, 1972, at the Cuban Embassy in Ottawa, Canada, with Permanent Secretary, Neville Selman, of the Guyana Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Guyana’s Ambassador to Cuba, Halim Majeed, welcomed the former high-level Cuban diplomat at the dinner, and praised him and his colleagues, Dr. Ricardo Alarcon, then Cuba’s Permanent Representative to the UN, and Dr. Raul Roa, former Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs – both now deceased – for their sterling contributions that transformed the hemispheric diplomatic order with the stroke of their pens.

In a short address at the dinner, Ambassador de Cossio recalled the intense, quiet diplomatic work that was taking place between Guyana and Cuba and the tremendously significant role of then Guyanese Foreign Minister, Sir Shridath Ramphal, and his Cuban counterpart, Dr. Raul Roa.

Remembering the political tensions at the time, Dr. de Cossio said there was a moment of great jubilation after the signing ceremony.

The Dean of the CARICOM Diplomatic Corps, Her Excellency Annielou Burns, Ambassador of Belize to the Republic of Cuba, made a stirring presentation recalling the vision and determination of four Caribbean States – Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago – to break the diplomatic blockade imposed by the Kennedy (US) Administration against Cuba.

She paid tribute to Ambassador de Cossio and the Cuban and Guyanese Governments for their vision, which has strengthened the Caribbean Region.

Also attending the Dinner were Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos de Cossio; Ambassador Eugenio Martinez, Head of MINREX Latin American and Caribbean Division; Ambassador Johana Tablada de la Torre, Deputy Director-General of the US Department of MINIREX, and other dignitaries.