Cuba opened its embassy in Kuala Lumpur in 1997, while Malaysia inaugurated its representation in Havana in February 2001.

In 2001, the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, visited that Asian country, where he was welcomed by King Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the Cuban Foreign Ministry recalled.

During the visit, the Sultan decorated Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro with the Supreme Order of the National Crown, a Trade, Economic and Scientific-Technical Exchange Agreement was signed, and the First Intergovernmental Commission was created.

That same year, after the King of Malaysia’s death, Cuba declared an Official Mourning Period.

In 2003, Fidel Castro returned to Malaysia to participate in the Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement.

In 2005, Raúl Castro, then first vice president of Cuba, also visited Malaysia.

Cuba was visited by two Malaysian heads of Government: Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad (1997 and 2000) and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (2004 and 2006), although the latter had already visited the country in 1998 as Foreign minister.

Last November, Malaysian Ambassador in Havana Muhammad Radzi reaffirmed his government’s opposition to unilateral coercive measures, specifically against Cuba, which he said severely restrict its potential to improve the economy and the lives of its people.

After confirming that his country will continue to support efforts in the United Nations and other international forums to end unilateral blockades, Radzi asserted that Malasia demands Cuba’s immediate exclusion from the list of countries that alledgedly sponsor terrorism.

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