The 40th meeting of the Vietnam - Cuba Intergovernmental Committee

The 40th meeting of the Vietnam - Cuba Intergovernmental Committee was held via teleconference on December 20^th. Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi, Co-Chairman of Vietnam - Cuba Intergovernmental Committee and Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz, Co-Chairman of Cuba - Vietnam Intergovernmental Committee, co-chaired the meeting.

The whole meeting in Hanoi

Attending the meeting on the Vietnamese side, there were the Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to Cuba, Mr. Le Thanh Tung, together with related leaders of Vietnamese ministries, agencies and businesses. On the Cuban side, there were the Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, the Co-Chairman of the Cuba – Vietnam Intergovernmental Committee, Mr. Malmierca Diaz; Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cuba to Vietnam, Mr. Nicolas Hernandez Guillen, together with Cuban ministries, government agencies and businesses.

At the meeting, the two sides reviewed cooperation results achieved in 2022, shared the socio-economic situation of each country in 2022 and agreed on cooperation contents in 2023.

Speaking at the meeting, Minister Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz said that, since the two countries signed the Agreement on establishment of the Intergovernmental Committee on cooperation science and technology economy in March 1974, this cooperation mechanism has always been focusing on development, contributing to promoting economic and scientific and technical cooperation between the two countries. Minister Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz believed that the 40th meeting would contribute to deepening the good traditional friendship between Cuba and Vietnam.

Next year, Cuba has set targets of stabilising the macro-economy, restoring power generation capacity, promoting the exploitation of renewable energy and food production, reviving tourism, and increasing the supply of public goods and services, he said.

Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi - Co-Chairman of the Vietnam - Cuba Intergovernmental Committee signed the meeting minutes.

At the meeting, Minister Nguyễn Thanh Nghị said ties between the two countries have been sustained via increasing political dialogues and high-level meetings. In particular, the official visit to Vietnam of the Cuban high-ranking delegation led by the Cuban Prime Minister; the delegation of the Ministers of Public Security and the Minister of Justice of Vietnam to Cuba, which was the basis for expanding cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

Evaluating the results of economic and scientific and technical cooperation within the framework of the Vietnam - Cuba Intergovernmental Committee, the two sides noted that relevant units have achieved maximum efforts, cooperated closely and gained many positive results in implementing the commitments of the MOU of the 39th Session. Two-way trade in the 11 months of this year reached US$136.4 million. Vietnam has maintained stable rice export to Cuba, helping Cuba ensure food security and social stability. Projects invested by Viglacera Corporation and Thai Binh Group in Cuba have contributed to meeting the demand for goods, increasing electricity production and creating many jobs for Cubans.

Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi also pointed out a number of obstacles and inadequacies in trade and investment cooperation such as late payment, unstable supply of fuels, equipments and electricity for factories. Minister Nghi took the occasion to ask the Cuban Government to tackle obstacles in joint projects to bring practical benefits to both sides.

Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz - Co-Chairman of Cuba - Vietnam Intergovernmental Committee signed the meeting minutes.

At this meeting, the two sides signed the Minutes of the 40th session of the Vietnam - Cuba Intergovernmental Committee on economic, scientific and technical cooperation. In 2023, the two sides jointly determined to promote cooperation in key priority areas.

The two co-chairs of the Vietnam - Cuba Intergovernmental Committee, Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi and Minister Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz both affirmed that the two sides would continue to cooperate closely and effectively implement the agreements, the MOU contributing to promote socio-economic development in each country, develop comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Cuba.