VZCZCXRO8072
RR RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHNY #0493 1091625
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 191625Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY OSLO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3820
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHUB/USINT HAVANA 0010

C O N F I D E N T I A L OSLO 000493 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/NB, WHA/CCA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/19/2016 
TAGS: PREL ETRD ETTC CU NO
SUBJECT: NORWAY'S CUBA POLICIES: LIBERTAD ACT REVIEW 
 
REF: A) STATE 57782 
 
     B) OSLO 77 
     C) 2005 OSLO 1730 
 
Classified By: Acting Political/Economic Counselor Doug Apostol, 
               reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  Norway's young center-left government is 
engaged in a controversial balancing act on Cuba, publicly 
supporting Cuban dissidents while also seeking a broader 
dialogue with Cuba.  With the exception of an impending oil 
drilling contract, Norwegian business interests in Cuba are 
scant at best.  Cultural exchanges are also minimal, but do 
exist.  Finally, there have been no high-level Cuban 
diplomatic visits in Norway during the last six months.  End 
summary. 
 
Democracy Record Mixed: Support Dissidents, Engage Government 
- - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - 
 
¶2.  (C) On April 19 we met with Herberth Linder, Office 
Director in the MFA's Latin American Affairs Section, and 
Section Deputy Hege Araldsen to discuss Norway's policies 
toward Cuba.  Per ref A, we reviewed the current state of 
Cuban-Norwegian relations, including the status of Norwegian 
business activity in Cuba.  Linder confirmed that the current 
center-left government will not invite Cuban dissidents to 
Norway's national day event on May 17 (ref B), a reversal of 
the prior center-right government's policy.  The current 
government believes that the practice of including Cuban 
dissidents hindered Norway's engagement in direct dialogue 
with the Cuban government.  Linder was quick to point out 
that inviting dissidents to the national day festivities made 
it "difficult to work with the Cubans," and precluded the 
Norwegian government from raising human rights issues. 
Additionally, the current government views inviting 
dissidents to national day celebrations as "impractical." 
Linder linked the policy reversal to Norway's commercial 
interests, commenting that Norwegian businesses were "not 
allowed to cross the threshold" as long as the practice was 
in place.  Despite the new policy, Linder stressed that 
Norway strong supported imprisoned Cuban dissidents and their 
families, citing its cash support and purchase of medicines 
(in cooperation with the Catholic Church) on their behalf. 
 
Norwegian Business Interests in Cuba Minimal 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶3.  (C) Norwegian business interests are essentially limited 
to a single joint venture among the Norwegian energy/aluminum 
firm Norsk Hydro, Spain's Repsol and India's Oil and Natural 
Gas Corporation (ref C).  The joint venture is seeking to 
develop offshore oil resources in Cuba's Exclusive Economic 
Zone.  There are no recent cases of Norwegian firms violating 
Title III of the Libertad Act.  The MFA's Araldsen noted that 
the Norwegian business community has shown little interest in 
Cuba, so Title III has not been much of an issue.  Also, 
there are no trade agreements between Cuba and Norway.  The 
leading economic activity between the two country is tourism, 
with an estimated 5,000 Norwegians visiting Cuba annually. 
 
Exchange Programs:  "Enemy of the People" in Havana 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶4.  (C) Linder cited a number of cultural and educational 
exchange programs between Norway and Cuba, including one 
sponsored by the Maritime Institute in Bergen (which trains 
some post-graduate students in Cuba).  Norwegian musical and 
drama troupes have performed in Cuba, including a recent 
company that performed Henrik Ibsen's "Enemy of the People" 
in Havana.  The Norwegian town of Fredrikstad has also given 
some support to Cuban cinema.  With respect to clubs and 
organizations in Norway sympathetic to Cuba, Linder noted the 
existence of a pro-Cuban society in Oslo (which, curiously 
enough, shares the same address and telephone number as the 
Norwegian Communist Party). 
 
No Recent High Level Diplomatic Visits 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶5.  (C) There have been no official high-level Cuban visits 
to Norway within the last six months.  Cuban trade union 
officials normally attend the annual Norwegian congress of 
trade unions.  Norwegian parliamentarians from the Christian 
Democrat party visited Cuba in 2005. 
Visit Oslo's Classified website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/oslo/index.cf m 
 
WHITNEY