By Andrew Cawthorne
HAVANA, Nov 3 (Reuters) - A senior member of Britain's Labour government held a marathon meeting with Fidel Castro into the early hours of Tuesday, saying afterwards Cuba's ageing revolutionary leader was sharp, witty and showed no signs of senility.
``It was five-and-a-half hours, and it was superb. Anyone who thinks Fidel is in his dotage should revise their calculations,'' said Trade Minister Brian Wilson, who met the 72-year-old Castro during a two-day official visit to Cuba.
The minister said earlier that Britain had ``no hangups at all'' about promoting economic ties with the communist-ruled island.
Wilson said he and other officials held a wide-ranging discussion with Castro ranging from the merits of Old Havana whiskey, to British Prime Minister Tony Blair's ``Third Way'' political philosophy, and the global financial turmoil.
``He had an extremely clear and unique perspective on the world economic crisis,'' said Wilson. ``It's a very personal view from a very distinct perspective of a country which could inevitably be affected by world recession, but to some extent stands outside the plot.''
Castro, one of the world's last remaining Communist leaders, has dedicated a large share of recent interviews, meetings and speeches to analysing the financial crisis and explaining his view that it shows the failure of Western capitalism and the need for ``globalized solidarity.''
Asked if human rights concerns would affect trade ties with Cuba, Wilson noted in comments late Monday night the European Union's 1996 Common Position on Cuba, which links cooperation to a call for rights improvements and reforms to Castro's one-party socialist system.
But ``I am here purely to talk about trade,'' he said.
Wilson said Castro had raised the possibility of holding a conference in Havana on the lessons to be learned from the 1929 financial crash, and had also shown great concern for other Latin American nations vulnerable to speculative cash-flows.
``He was in great form,'' he said. ``It wasn't a kind of egotistical monologue ... He was also very happy to listen. I was pleasantly surprised by the informality and the humour. He is a very witty man.''
Wilson added that Castro had expressed interest in starting a dialogue with Blair's government.
The minister was in Cuba to visit the 16th Havana International Trade Fair and promote British commercial interests on the Caribbean island.
In his comments late Monday, he said Britain was eager to catch up with other European nations doing bigger levels of business on the island.
``We have very liberal principles of trade. We want to promote trade in as many markets as possible. And Britain has no hang-ups at all about promoting trade in Cuba,'' he added.
But he also warned that the outstanding issue of Cuba's more than $100 million debt with Britain had to be ``faced up to'' as part of improving commercial relations.
Wilson met Central Bank President Francisco Soberon soon after arriving in Cuba on Monday to discuss options over the debt including a possible investment conversion component.
Since Cuba's cautious opening to foreign capital from 1990, Britain has lagged behind other European nations like Spain, Italy, France and Germany in doing business on the island.
Wilson attributed that to factors including the debt issue, U.S. pressure to isolate Cuba commercially, and the need for a stronger credit-line to the island from Britain. But he noted that some 30 British companies were represented at the trade fair, and that his visit was intended as a ``strong signal that we do want to find a way through.''
``My bottom line is that Britain should do no less than our competitors to support our businesses in trade and investment with Cuba ... The point of being here is not to emphasise the status quo, but to move it forward,'' he said.
Wilson noted that Britons were coming to Cuba in increasing numbers, 62,000 last year, and said airline British Airways was scheduled to start direct flights here in the first half of 1999.
16:42 11-03-98
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.