The King announces improvements to the Spanish Consulate in Havana

Felipe VI, King of Spain, who is visiting the island of Cuba, has announced improvements to the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Spain in Cuba, as was announced just minutes ago through the web page of the Royal House.

The statements were made in front of representatives of the Spanish community in Cuba, before whom the monarch announced the Spanish State's intention to develop and improve the care provided to Spanish citizens living abroad.

"Nothing that happens in Cuba is foreign to Spain and nothing that happens in Spain is foreign to Cuba. You, Spaniards – and also Cubans – are the living expression of how much une to our peoples…”, emphasized the Spanish Head of State.

The King's remarks at the reception for the Spanish community in Cuba. @MAECgob @EmbEspCuba https://t.co/kEiSDVFHBo pic.twitter.com/9fI060zzMe

- Casa de SM el Rey (@CasaReal) November 13, 2019

Her Majesty highlighted the growth of the Spanish community in Cuba as a very positive development, a figure that has tripled compared to 2009. "This will soon make this country one of the Ibero-American nations with the largest Spanish presence," she said.

"In this regard, a second Consulate is being opened in Camagüey, while the facilities at the Consulate in Havana will also be improved. We hope this will strengthen the services you receive," explained Felipe VI to the gathering of Cuban-Spanish citizens with whom he met on his last day in Havana.

Since the beginning of this year, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed its intention to open a second consulate in Cuba, which would actually be located in the city of Camagüey, and not in the East, specifically in Santiago de Cuba, the island's second largest city.

However, due to the geographical distribution of the Hispanic population, it was decided to establish it in the center of the nation: "the Spanish colony has advised locating it in the center of the island."

For many, this would be one of the topics the King would inevitably address, given that the volume of procedures at the Consulate General in Havana has grown exponentially, causing discomfort and considerable delays in resolving citizenship, visa, and aid cases.

In fact, this is the Spanish representation abroad that has received the largest number of complaints regarding delays in resolving nationality applications, primarily in cases related to the Historical Memory Law, according to the Annual Report presented by the Ombudsman.

Up to this point in his visit, the monarch has not mentioned the long-awaited reopening of a new Historical Memory Law, which would eventually allow thousands of Cubans to apply for Iberian nationality. In any case, it is not Her Majesty's responsibility to enact such legislation, but rather a prerogative of the Spanish Congress.

Felipe VI and Letizia are scheduled to travel to the city of Santiago de Cuba, where they will pay tribute to the Spanish soldiers who fell in the Cuban War of Independence, especially those who lost their lives in the "Disaster of '98." 

After their visit to the Santiago de Cuba coast, the King and Queen will return to Spain, two days before the 500th anniversary of Havana, the main reason for a visit that has clearly demonstrated the normalization of political relations between the two states.

Spain is currently Cuba's third-largest trading partner, and as part of the visit by the King and Queen, a Framework Agreement for collaboration with Cuba was signed, amounting to more than 57 million euros.