Inclusion in this chronology does not necessarily indicate that a particular development is of direct or indirect proliferation significance. Some entries provide international or domestic context for technological development and national policymaking. Moreover, some entries may refer to developments with positive consequences for nonproliferation.

2000
Restructuring of Cuba's pharmaceutical industry begins, as Cuba attempts to meet demands of the domestic drug market. The Medical-Pharmaceutical Industry is placed under the Chemical Union in the Ministry of Basic Industry, instead of the Ministry of Health.
—Patricia Grogg, "Pharmaceutical industry poised for expansion," Inter Press Service, 10 June 2002.

23 May 2000
Kenneth Alibek testifies before Congress that Moscow State University provided training to Cuban scientists in biotechnology, microbiology, and genetic engineering.
—"Prepared Testimony of Kenneth Alibek before the House Armed Services Committee Oversight Panel on Terrorism," Federal News Service, 23 May 2000.

27 May 2000
Iran and Cuba sign a protocol committing themselves to biotech cooperation; however, Cuban scientists trained in biotechnology already work within Iran.
—"Call for international cooperation in biotechnology," IPR Strategic Business Information Database, 29 August 2000.

17 July 2000
A vaccine against infectious equine encephalomyelitis, a joint project between Laboratorios Biologicos Farmaceuticos (Labiofam) in Cuba and a Chinese laboratory, is currently in the late research phase. When completed, Cuba will be the only country besides China to produce this vaccine.
—Radio Rebelde, Havana, 17 July 2000, BBC Worldwide Monitoring, 17 July 2000.

5 September 2000
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, on a trip to Havana, expresses his interest in creating a joint enterprise to produce vaccines in Belarus.
—Nikolai Palagichev, "Belarusian president visiting Cuba," Itar-Tass News Agency, 5 September 2000.

13 September 2000
Following a visit to the Frank Pais Orthopedic Hospital, Yemeni president Ali Abdallah Salih signs an Agreement of Understanding between Cuba and Yemen focusing on cooperation in the health sector in coordination with an agreement for technology exchange relating to the prevention of hepatitis B. There are already 42 Cuban doctors within Yemen, along with nine Cuban engineers.
—Elson Concepcion Perez, Granma Internacional (internet version), 14 September 2000, in "Cuba, Yemen sign health cooperation agreement," FBIS LAP20000914000077, 14 September 2000.

30 September 2000
Iranian president Mohammad Khatami visits Cuba, addressing scientists at CIGB, stating that, "imperialist powers could not monopolize knowledge and technology."
—"Cuban president to visit Iran this year," Agence France Presse, 7 February 2001; "Cuba in the Middle East: 2000-2002," An Information Service of the Cuba Transition Project, Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami, Issue 30, 14 November 2002, <http://ctp.iccas.miami.edu/FOCUS_Web/Issue30.htm>.

4 October 2000
Dr. Gustavo Sierra, vice-president and research director of the Finlay Institute, announces that Cuba and India can begin joint biotechnology projects based on previous vaccine cooperation between the two countries.
—M. Somasekhar, "Cuba proposes joint R&D for vaccines," Financial Times Information, 5 October 2000.

22 December 2000
For the first time, Cuban scientists have produced a set of reagents for the in-laboratory diagnosis of cholera, invented at the Microbiology Laboratory at the Norte Children's Hospital. These include a new strain of Vibrio cholerae 0139 and "'new' bacteria that causes the illness."
—Prensa Latina, Havana, 22 December 2000, "Cuba produces reagents to diagnose cholera," BBC Worldwide Monitoring, 27 December 2000.

7 February 2001
Iranian Ambassador to Cuba, Seyyed D. Salehi, reveals that Cuba is cooperating with Iran in the establishment of an Iranian biotechnology center, and officials from the Iranian Health Ministry are visiting Cuba to solidify plans.
—Prensa Latina News Agency, Havana, 8 February 2001, "Cuba: Iranian envoy views biotechnology, agriculture, pharmacology cooperation," BBC Worldwide Monitoring, 9 February 2001.

23 February 2001
The Ad Hoc Group of the Biological Weapons Convention ends its first session of the year in an attempt to form a legally binding protocol. However, State Parties were not able to agree as to whether states should be allowed to keep export controls, or whether controls should become multi-lateral, applied equally to all State Parties to the convention. Cuba, along with China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Libya, Mexico, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, supports the establishment of a review board that could overturn denials of requests for technology transfer, while Western States oppose such an idea, calling for continued national export controls.
—Seth Brugger, "BWC Ad Hoc Group meets with 'mixed' results," Arms Control Today, April 2001, <http://www.armscontrol.org>.

18 March 2001
Fidel Castro announces that Cuba is interested in helping South Africa and Brazil produce inexpensive AIDS drugs for citizens of their countries by ignoring current US patents.
—"Cuba wants to help South Africa, Brazil make cheaper AIDS drugs," Agence France Presse, 19 March 2001.

31 March 2001
Iranian parliamentarians visit Cuba in order to further strengthen cooperation in biotechnology between the two countries, which has been a priority of Castro's over the past six years.
—Tehran IRNA, 31 March 2001; in "Cuba, Iran to expand cooperation in biotechnology," FBIS IAP20010331000035, 31 March 2001.

2 May 2001
Heberkinasa, the commercial name for CIGB's recombinant streptokinase, is now on the market with a new 1.5 million IU bulb, as compared with the current 500,000 and 700,000 IU bulbs. This allows for one dose to dissolve blood clots, instead of the earlier three or four doses. Heberkinasa is the only recombinant streptokinase formed through recombinant DNA techniques, and is registered in European, Latin American, Asian, and African countries.
—Lilliam Riera, "Heberkinasa in a new concentration," Granma Internacional, 2 May 2002, <http://granmai.co.cu/ingles/index.html>.

5-17 May 2001
Fidel Castro visits Algeria, Iran, Malaysia, Qatar, Syria, and Libya in order to strengthen both political and economic ties between the Middle East and the island nation.
—"Cuba in the Middle East: 2000-2002," An Information Service of the Cuba Transition Project, Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami, Issue 30, 14 November 2002, <http://ctp.iccas.miami.edu/FOCUS_Web/Issue30.htm>.

5 May 2001
While in Algeria, Fidel Castro supports the establishment of a protocol of cooperation and the facilitation of medical technology transfer.
—Dalia Acosta, "Castro home after tour of 'brother countries'," Inter Press Service, 18 May 2001.

10 May 2001
Fidel Castro meets with Cuban and Iranian scientists working on a joint biotechnology project to produce medications, including the hepatitis B vaccine. The laboratory under construction in a joint Iranian-Cuba project will be built at a cost of $600 million, and is scheduled to open in the next year.
—"Iran-Cuba (scheduled) stalled medicine factory is US's fault, Iranian tells Castro," Financial Times Information, 9 May 2001.

15 June 2001
The Cuban Ministry of Science, Technology, and the Environment and the Chinese Academy of Engineering sign an agreement for technology exchange in areas such as vaccine research, molecular immunology, and industrialization.
—Prensa Latina News Agency, 15 June 2001, "Science Ministry signs an agreement with China's Academy of Engineering," BBC Worldwide Monitoring, 16 June 2001.

19 June 2001
Fidel Castro appears on Cuban television, discussing the current state of the Cuban Army. He emphasizes that Cuban scientists are not involved in any type of warfare, but the country has become well-prepared for war against invading forces.
—Remarks by Fidel Castro at the Television Cuban Studios, 19 June 2001.

17 August 2001
Cuban experts report in Granma Internacional that the current bee parasite epidemic may be a result of biological warfare.
—"Bee parasite may be biological warfare," Agence France Presse, 17 August 2001.

October 2001
Jose de la Fuente, former director of research and development for CIGB now living in the United States, publishes his article "Wine into vinegar—the fall of Cuba's biotechnology," detailing the current state of Cuba's biotechnology sector. He states that following the collapse of the Soviet Union, biotech research centers slowly came under the control of the Secretary of the State Council directly under Castro. De la Fuente is also concerned about the sale of CIGB's most impressive products to Iran, as he does not believe that Iran is interested in the vaccines, rather in the dual-use technology provided by Cuba.
—Jose de la Fuente, "Wine into vinegar-the fall of Cuba's biotechnology," Nature Biotechnology, 19(10): 905-907, October 2001.

3 October 2001
Rosa Elena Simeon, Cuban Minister of Science, Technology, and the Environment, returns from a four-day visit to China, during which the two countries stressed their commitment to furthering cooperation in bioinformatics, seismology, and biotechnology. Simeon met with the president of the Academy of Engineers in China, touring "special areas of advanced technology development." Currently there are 38 joint projects between China and Cuba of a scientific or technical nature.
—"A new stage of scientific cooperation with China," Granma Internacional, 3 October 2001, <http://granmai.co.cu/ingles/index.html>.

12 October 2001
Ken Alibek, testifying before Congress, once again comments on the possibility of Cuban bioweapons production. He states that he was confused by the a 1999 State Department report denying any information about a Cuban BW program, while the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) signified its concern over Cuban intentions. Alibek continues, "We knew Cuba was interested in biological weapons research and development work. We knew that there were several centers; one of them was located close to Havana involved in, I would say, in military biological technology....Cuba has a very perfectly developed system of engineering and is capable to develop genetic engineering agents. They've got the desire to develop genetically engineered biological weapons."
—Ken Alibek before the House Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans Affairs and International Relations, of the Committee on Government Reform, "Combating terrorism: Assessing the threat of a biological weapons attack," House Serial No. 107-103, US Government Printing Office, Washington, 2002.

November 2001
Biological Pharmaceutical Laboratories (LABIOFAM) has produced an anti-Gumboro vaccine using recombinant DNA technology, which allows for a longer immune response than conventional vaccines. Gumboro is a viral disease that harms the immunological system within poultry, causing a high mortality rate. This project began in 1996, and the vaccine offers protection against some of the more virulent strains of the disease.
—"Cuban anti-Gumboro vaccine could be marketed in 2002," Granma Internacional, 14 November 2001, <http://www.granma.cu/ingles/index.html>.

19 November 2001
Jose Rodriguez Duenes, director of the National Center on Biological Safety, announces that Cuba is in full compliance with all international conventions governing biological weapons, and that no pathogens are being used for military purposes.
—Patricia Grogg, "Authorities deny misuse of biological agents," Inter Press Service, 19 November 2001.

28 November 2001
At the Fifth Review Conference of States Parties to the BWC, the secretariat prepares a document on Cuban compliance with the BWC. Cuba has participated in "information exchange" through confidence building measures since 1992, involving 13 institutions.
Cuba has also classified biological agents and toxins affecting humans, animals, and plants into risk groups in accordance with decree-law No. 190 (1999). Cuba has promised to prepare for the regulation on the accounting of biological agents, teams, materials, and technology. The BWC finds that Cuba has complied with the annual submission of all required paperwork on biological safety, along with outbreaks of diseases affecting humans, animals, and plants. Cuba encourages scientific publication as another aspect of CBMs under the BWC. The secretariat states that Cuba does not need to declare any past offensive or defense biological weapons research, as there are no such programs within Cuba.
—Secretariat of the Biological Weapons Convention, "Background document on compliance by States Parties with all their obligations under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction," BWC/CONF.V/3/Add.7, 28 November 2001.

December 2001
The World Health Organization registers Cuba's hepatitis B vaccine, produced as a joint project by CIGB, BioCen, and CENPALAB.
—Joaquin Oramas, "BioCen: Ten years of advances," Granma Internacional, 25 February 2003, <http://www.granma.cu/ingles/index.html>.

	Updated March 2007