CUBA: REVIEW OF TURKEY FOR SUSPENSION OF TITLE III

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 000984

SIPDIS

WHA/CCA FOR DAVID MCFARLAND

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2018
TAGS: ETRD ETTC EINT PREL TU CU
SUBJECT: CUBA: REVIEW OF TURKEY FOR SUSPENSION OF TITLE III
OF THE LIBERTAD ACT

REF: STATE 52541

Classified By: Economic Counselor Dale B. Eppler for reasons 1.4 (B) &
(D)


1. (C) Summary: Turkey's relations with Cuba are limited,
and its investment on the island is nonexistent. The two
countries conduct a yearly Joint Economic Commission (JEC)
meeting, chaired in March in Ankara by Cuba's Minister for
Foreign Economic Relations and Foreign Investment and
Turkey's State Minister for Foreign Trade. There is no
bilateral trade agreement between the two countries, and
Turkey does not sponsor any exchange programs or sponsor
Cuban doctors or medical treatment. End summary.


2. (C) MFA Cuba Desk Officer Ece Ozturk Cil told us the
Turkish government has not taken any specific action to
condemn human rights abuses in Cuba, though the GOT
participates in European Union efforts to draw attention to
human rights abuses. Turkey participates in a yearly
bilateral Joint Economic Commission (JEC) with the Government
of Cuba, Cil explained. In March, Cuban Minister of Foreign
Economic Relations and Foreign Investment, Marta Lomas
Morales, chaired the JEC with Turkish Foreign Trade Minister,
Kursad Tuzmen, and met with Turkish Deputy Prime Minister
Cemil Cicek in Ankara. Cil confirmed Cuba has no exchange
programs with Turkey, does not sponsor Cuban doctors working
in Turkey, and does not pay for medical travel for Turkish
citizens.


3. (C) Turkish Foreign Trade Undersecretariat (FTU) Americas
Department Head for Bilateral Agreements, Atilla Bastirmaci,
told us that Turkey and Cuba's total bilateral trade volume
in 2007 was around $33 million, $30 million of which was
Turkish consumer goods exported to Cuba. Turkey imports a
small amount of Cuban rum, cigars and sugar and, in 2005,
imported $2.5 million worth of Hepatitis B vaccines. There
is no preferential trade agreement between the two countries,
although Cuba is the only Caribbean country with which FTU
officials maintain a regular trade-related dialogue.
Bastirmaci told us that there is no Turkish investment in
Cuba, but FTU officials hope to increase Turkish exports to
the island, and Turkish contractors are interested in
entering the housing and renovation market if and when the
opportunity arises. A Turkish company is currently building
a sulfuric acid factory in Cuba, but it will be owned and
operated by a Canadian company. Bastirmaci was also aware of
two Cuban exchange students currently studying Turkish in
Turkey, and he told us that some Turkish students were
interested in studying Spanish in Cuba but had not yet made
arrangements for such a program.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey

WILSON