General Raul Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, congratulated Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Le Thanh Tung at the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and Vietnam, December 9, 2020. (Source: VNA)
So said Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Le Thanh Tung ahead of State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s official visit to Cuba from September 18 to 20 at the invitation of Miguel Díaz-Canel, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba’s Central Committee and Cuban President
During the resistance war against the US for national salvation, Cuba was always at the forefront of the international movement in support of Vietnam and provided a lot of economic and military assistance to Vietnam at important points of the war.
Meanwhile, Vietnam has always stood by, shared, and contributed to ensuring food security for Cuba through the stable supply of rice and the implementation of a project to support Cuba in increasing local rice production for more than a decade; and has been consistent in demanding that the US immediately lift the unilateral embargo against Cuba.
Talking about the significance of the visit to Cuba by State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnamese Party and State from September 18-20, the ambassador stressed the visit will show that Vietnam really values and is determined to continue strengthening and further deepening the tradition of fraternal solidarity, comprehensive cooperation and complete mutual trust between the Party, State and people of the two countries, as well as strongly reaffirm the solidarity and consistent support of Vietnam to the just cause of the Cuban people's revolutionary cause.
The visit has a very special meaning as President Nguyen Xuan Phuc is the first foreign head of state to visit Cuba since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic from the beginning of 2020, according to the Vietnamese ambassador. “This is the first bilateral high-level visit of the new term in the two countries, after the 13th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the 8th Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba successfully held at the beginning of this year,” he said.
The leaders of the two countries will jointly assess the status of the bilateral comprehensive cooperation relationship, focus on exchanging and agreeing on orientations and specific measures to further improve the effectiveness of the cooperation mechanisms already established through the channels of relations between the Party, State, ministries, branches, socio-political organizations, localities and enterprises of the two countries, gradually bringing the bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation relations in line with good political relations; and strengthening cooperation and mutual support at international organizations and multilateral forums.
The leaders of the two countries paid special attention to cooperation in the prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which Cuba provides Vietnam with the locally made Abdala vaccine against COVID-19 and transfers this vaccine production technology to Vietnam.
On this occasion, the two sides are expected to issue a high-level joint statement, sign important cooperation documents in the fields of economy - trade and investment, health, agriculture, fisheries and justice.
Vietnam and Cuba celebrated the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations in late 2020. “The special solidarity between Vietnam and Cuba, which was established by President Ho Chi Minh and the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro Ruz, has been reinforced and fostered by successive generations of leaders and the people of the two countries over the past 60 years, becoming an ‘exemplary relationship’ in international relations as once assessed by Cuban leader Fidel,” said Ambassador Tung./.