By Gloria Ikibah
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has called for stronger parliamentary cooperation between Nigeria and Cuba, with a focus on medical exchanges, joint research, academic recognition, and targeted investments.
Speaking in Abuja on Sunday, while receiving a Cuban delegation led by Hon. Fernando González Llort a national hero of Cuba, member of the National Assembly of the People’s Power, and President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), Speaker Abbas stressed the need for parliamentary diplomacy that delivers practical outcomes. 
Represented by the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, he explained that such collaboration should lead to signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), ratified agreements, and well-funded programmes that can bring real benefits to both nations.
The Speaker praised the long-standing diplomatic relations between Nigeria and Cuba and urged deeper cooperation, particularly in areas of shared interest. He identified health and parliamentary diplomacy, trade, culture, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals as key areas that could help build a more robust and meaningful partnership.
He said: “Nigeria’s foreign policy, guided by the principles of African solidarity and cooperation across the Global South, continues to prioritise partnerships that promote peace, development, and shared prosperity. The 10th Assembly is committed to advancing this through laws that enable economic cooperation, cultural exchange, and global dialogue.
“We also recognise Cuba’s legacy of parliamentary solidarity, from decolonisation struggles to calls for global equity. It is both strategic and moral to formalise collaboration where our legislatures can deliver, through law-making, institutional strengthening, and parliamentary diplomacy that yields real benefits for our peoples.
“Our tools are laws, oversight, and convening power. The Nigeria–Cuba Parliamentary Friendship Group provides a platform to fast-track frameworks for medical exchanges, academic recognition, joint research, and targeted investments. Parliamentary diplomacy must yield real outputs: MOUs, ratified agreements, and funded programmes.
“Bilateral trade between our countries is minimal. According to UN Comtrade reports, Nigeria’s imports from Cuba were just US$2,380 in 2024. Yet our cultural ties run deep in music, sports, and literature. Let us convert this affinity into opportunities for artisans, agri-entrepreneurs, and creative industries.
Education, Skills, and Youth Exchange Nigeria’s demographic dividend depends on skills for the 21st century.
“Scholarships in Cuba, paired with Nigerian internships and reciprocal placements, can produce professionals fluent in international cooperation.
“Cuba’s record is proven: over 1,200 doctors in 21 “Henry Reeve” brigades and tens of thousands still deployed worldwide. Joint training, health expertise exchange, and co-developed treatments can strengthen Nigeria’s health systems.
“Nigeria prioritises affordable medicines and vaccine capacity. Cuba’s biotech, Including the Abdala COVID-19 vaccine (92% effective against severe disease in published studies), shows what is possible. Partnerships in research, tech transfer, and pilot manufacturing can boost vaccine production, protect public health, and create jobs while advancing Africa’s self-sufficiency.
“Nigeria sees this relationship not as a one-way street but as a balanced exchange. We value Cuba’s achievements in health, biotechnology, and education, while Cuba can benefit from Nigeria’s 200 million-strong market, rich resources, vibrant creative industries, and continental leadership. From energy and agriculture to pharmaceuticals, tourism, sports, and culture, the opportunities are diverse and compelling. This is true reciprocity: Cuba brings tested knowledge, Nigeria offers scale and opportunity, and together we can uplift our peoples and the wider Global South.”
Stressing the benefits of the relationship, Speaker Abbas asserted that the visit should mark the beginning of concrete frameworks between the Nigerian Parliament and Cuba’s National Assembly.
“The path ahead requires candid conversations on capacity, financing, and mutual benefit. Our agreements must guarantee technology transfer, fair protection of intellectual property, and local value chains that translate into jobs, clinics, and stronger universities.
“Let this visit be more than protocol; it must mark the beginning of concrete frameworks between the Nigerian Parliament and Cuba’s National Assembly, and a people-to-people compact linking Abuja to Havana, Lagos to Santiago and even Bende to Camagüey.
“As lawmakers, we stand ready to advance the legislative instruments, whether in cultural diplomacy, trade, or education, that will give this partnership lasting form”, he said.
Earlier in their separate remarks, the Cuban Ambassador to Nigeria, Miriam Morales Palmer and the visiting Cuban parliamentarian, Hon. Fernando González Llort praised the relationship between Nigeria and Cuba, and said they are working on issues mutual interest to both countries.
Llort extended the invitation of the parliament to the Deputy Speaker to visit Cuba to enable them exchange views on parliamentary diplomacy and other issues of mutual interest and benefits.
