Vietnam, Cuba seek to bolster all-round ties

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc holds talks with President of Cuba Miguel Díaz Canel in Havana on September 19 (Photo: VNA)

The two leaders briefed each other on the recent situation in each country, while discussing measures to continue to bolster the fraternal solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, States and peoples, especially in the areas of consumer goods manufacturing, food and aquatic production and renewable energy. They also mentioned regional and international issues of shared concern. 

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc conveyed best regards from Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and senior leaders of the Party and State of Vietnam to President Miguel Díaz Canel and General Raul Castro and other leaders of Cuba.

He congratulated the Party, State and people of Cuba on their recent achievements as well as the success of the eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, expressing his belief that Cuban people will successfully carry out the congress’ resolutions and gain new attainments in the path of building a prosperous and stable socialist country of Cuba.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel thanked Vietnam for giving sincere and whole-hearted support to Cuba’s revolutionary cause in the past and at present, especially in this hard time. He affirmed that Cuba highly values Vietnam’s socio-economic development experience.

Both sides expressed their delight at new and positive steps of development in bilateral special traditional ties in all fields, including politics-diplomacy, security-defence, economy-trade-investment, culture-education, and science-technology. The Vietnam-Cuba cooperation in agriculture and food security has been maintained with rice, coffee, maize and aquatic development projects, they noted.

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and President Miguel Díaz-Canel agreed that in the time to come, both sides should continue to strengthen their political relations through the exchange of delegations at all levels regularly with flexible forms, while enhancing the efficiency of cooperation mechanisms, including the theoretical conference between the two Parties, the Inter-Government Committee, the political consultations between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs, and policy dialogue between the two Defence Ministries.

Vietnam and Cuba should work closely together to effectively implement the new trade agreement, while optimising preferences from the deal, thus raising two-way trade to a level that matches the potential and sound political ties between the two countries, they said.

President Phuc expressed hope that Cuba will create favourable conditions for Vietnamese investors in Cuba, especially those operating in consumer goods production, food and aquatic product export, and renewable energy.

Both sides should continue to seek specific measures to turn cooperation potential in health care into specific collaboration programmes, they concurred.

The two leaders also pledged to create favourable conditions for and working closely together in the implementation of joint projects in rice, maize, coffee development and aquatic farming in Cuba, toward the goal of Cuba's self-sufficiency  in food. The two sides will also foster cooperation in culture, science, technology, sports, tourism and training, they said.

On behalf of the Party, State and people of Cuba, President Miguel Diaz Canel presents the Vietnamese State leader with José Marti Order, the noblest reward of the Cuban State (Photo: VNA)

President Phuc thanked the Cuban side to give highest priority to the provision of Cuban-developed COVID-19 vaccine to Vietnam, describing this as evidence for the timely support that Cuba has always given to Vietnam like Cuban leader Fidel Castro saying “for Vietnam, Cuba is willing to shed its blood”.

The two leaders shared pleasure at the close coordination and mutual support at international organisations and multilateral forums, especially the UN and the Non-Aligned Movement. They also affirmed their support to the settlement of disputes through peaceful measures in line with international law.

On the occasion, President Phuc announced Vietnam’s gift of 5,000 tonnes of rice and a number of medical equipment to Cuba. Some Vietnamese ministries and sectors also offered presents to Cuba, including 1,000 tonnes of rice from construction firms, and 100 tonnes of maize from the Ministry of Defence, and medical equipment and IT software from other ministries.

President Phuc also took the opportunity to invite President  Miguel Diaz Canel to visit Vietnam soon.

Following the talks, on behalf of the Party, State and people of Cuba, President Miguel Diaz Canel presented the Vietnamese State leader with José Marti Order, the noblest reward of the Cuban State, in recognition of President Phuc’s contributions to the acceleration of solidarity, friendship and cooperation between the two Parties, States and people.

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Cuban President Miguel Díaz Canel witness the signing of a number of agreements between the two countries (Photo: VNA)

The two leaders also witnessed the signing of a number of agreements between the two countries, including a plan of action to implement the middle-term economic agenda in the 2021-2025 period; a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two ministries of health, a plan to conduct a project to support Cuba’s aquatic farming sector in the third phase between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Cuba’s Ministry of Food Industry; a cooperation programme in the 2022-2023 between the two ministries of justice; a MoU on cooperation plan in cybersecurity between the Ministry of Information and Communications and Cuba’s Ministry of Communications.

Within the visit’s framework, the two sides issued a joint statement of the two countries on the occasion of the Vietnamese President’s Cuban visit./.

VNA