Global Business and Economics Program Director Andrea Montanino writes for Investor’s Business Daily on what shifting US policy toward Cuba means for Cuba’s relationship with international financial institutions such as the Innternational Monetary Fund:
Cuba’s isolation by the West greatly limited its economic performance over the past 50 years. With an economy that represents around 0.1% of world GDP, its role has been relatively negligible.
At the same time, the Cuban people have shown strong resilience. President Obama’s decision to restore full diplomatic relations with Cuba has opened new opportunities for the country. To benefit fully from this change, Cuba should re-engage with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
Cuba is one of the founding members of the Bretton Woods institutions. Its delegation was among the few invited by then-Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau to join the U.S. and the United Kingdom in drafting the rules of the international monetary system.