Cuban Government Appoints Ana Silvia Rodríguez Abascal as Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates

The Cuban Council of State has enacted Resolution 649-X, appointing Ana Silvia Rodríguez Abascal as the new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cuba to the United Arab Emirates.

Issued on September 11, the resolution was made public this Tuesday in the Ordinary Official Gazette No. 79 of 2026, featured on pages three and four.

Based on Article 122, section o) of the Cuban Constitution, this decision was proposed by the President of the Republic and officially signed by Juan Esteban Lazo Hernández, the president of the National Assembly of People's Power, in Havana.

Rodríguez Abascal takes over from Norberto Carlos Escalona Carrillo, who had been stationed in Abu Dhabi since February 2023 and, according to the resolution, has "completed his mission."

The Foreign Minister, Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla, is assigned the responsibility of implementing the resolution's directives, which also need to be communicated to the Secretary of the Council of Ministers and the State and Government Personnel Directorate.

The new ambassador brings a wealth of experience in Cuba's multilateral diplomacy. She previously led Cuba's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York—a position she held since at least 2019—before heading the Directorate of International Organizations within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Diplomatic ties between Cuba and the United Arab Emirates were first established in March 2002. Since then, bilateral relations have strengthened, resulting in agreements involving investments, tourism, biotechnology, and renewable energy.

In April 2025, both nations publicly advocated for enhancing economic and trade cooperation in strategic sectors, including agriculture and renewable energies.

The Ordinary Gazette No. 79 of 2026 outlines four resolutions from the Council of State concerning changes in Cuba's diplomatic corps: the appointment of an ambassador to France (Resolution 646-X), the accreditation of an ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cameroon (Resolution 647-X), the appointment in the United Arab Emirates (Resolution 649-X), and the designation of an ambassador to Guatemala (Resolution 650-X).

All these appointments were made under the same constitutional article and proposed by the President of the Republic.