The 41st session of the Vietnam-Cuba Intergovernmental Committee opened in La Habana – the capital of Republic of Cuba, seeking ways to expand and diversify bilateral economic relations in commensurate with the traditional political relationship between the two Parties, States, and peoples.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment of Cuba Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, co-chairman of the Cuba-Vietnam Intergovernmental Committee, spoke at the meeting.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi, who is co-chair of the committee, said that the Vietnamese Party, State, and people always remember the special affection, strong support and help from the Cuban Party, State, and people to Vietnam during the country’s past struggle for liberation as well as its current nation building and development.
In response to this, in recent years, Vietnam has always paid attention to supporting and promoting cooperation with Cuba in all fields, from politics and diplomacy, to trade, investment, and agriculture, and sharing experiences in State management in the fields of finance, banking, foreign investment attraction, information and communications, construction, and justice.
Vietnamese delegation to the 41st session of the Vietnam-Cuba Intergovernmental Committee
Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi also stated the outstanding achievements that Vietnam achieved in 2023. Regarding Vietnam-Cuba cooperation, implementing agreements of senior leaders of the two countries and action plans for the period 2023-2025; implementation of the medium-term bilateral economic program and cooperation agreement at the Minutes of the 40th Meeting of the Vietnam-Cuba Intergovernmental Committee. The two sides always maintain close cooperation and achieve many positive results.
Nghi proposed finding specific solutions to remove difficulties for Vietnamese businesses to maintain production and ensure business and investment efficiency, and create more motivation and confidence to attract new investors to Cuba.
Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi expressed his belief that with the spirit of cooperation, and the close and positive direction of the two Co-Chairs, the 41st Session will be successful, creating a new step in economics and science and technology cooperation between Vietnam and Cuba.
For his part, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment of Cuba Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, who is also co-chair of the committee, highlighted the importance of economic, financial, and trade cooperation, as Vietnam is currently one of Cuba's main Asian investors and also an important rice supplier.
The two sides agreed to strengthen bilateral collaboration in tourism, energy, biotechnology, and agricultural and food production, while continuing to promote business agreements for domestic and export markets.
The session will last to April 15./.