Deputy PM to pay official friendship visits to Cuba, Venezuela

The Cuba visit takes place amid the continually enhanced traditional friendship and increasingly substantive cooperation between the two countries. Their fraternity, comprehensive cooperation, and mutual trust have been further consolidated and expanded across the board.

The two sides maintain regular delegation exchange at all levels, especially high-level ones, and effectively deploy the mechanisms of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Committee, Defence Policy Dialogue and political consultations at the deputy ministerial level.

Regarding trade cooperation, Vietnam is Cuba's second largest Asian trade partner, however, bilateral trade exchange remains modest.

The Vietnam-Cuba Trade Agreement signed in 2018 officially came into effect on April 1, 2020, with many new trade preferential commitments, thereby bringing benefits to businesses of the two countries and creating favorable conditions for import and export activities.

Regarding investment cooperation, Vietnam is currently the Caribbean nation’s largest foreign investor in Asia. Vietnamese businesses are interested in and gradually expanding investment cooperation in Cuba, especially in the Mariel Special Development Zone in essential consumer goods production, construction materials and renewable energy.

Concerning Vietnam-Venezuela relations, the two countries officially established diplomatic relations in 1989 and set up a comprehensive partnership framework in May 2007. Notably, this year marks the 35th anniversary of both nations' diplomatic ties.

During the past 35 years, the traditional friendship and comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and Venezuela have continued to be strengthened on all three pillars of Party diplomacy, state diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy. In addition, parliamentary diplomacy and relations between localities of the two countries have also been promoted.

Regarding economics, trade and investment, the two sides have signed more than 50 cooperation agreements across a variety of fields and implemented many cooperation mechanisms and bilateral cooperation projects, especially in agriculture and aquaculture.

Vietnam's agricultural projects in Venezuela have achieved good results on developing high-yield rice varieties as a contribution to ensuring food security for the South American nation.

Although two-way trade turnover is still modest, with last year's figure of US$31.52 million, there is still a lot of potential for stronger cooperation in the fields of energy, mining, agriculture and tourism.

The official friendship visits to Cuba and Venezuela by Deputy PM Tran Luu Quang are of great significance for continuing to consistently implementing the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization, diversification, and proactive international integration in a comprehensive, extensive and effective manner adopted by the 13th National Party Congress.

These visits aim to discuss a score of measures aimed at promoting and deepening relations and effective cooperation between Vietnam and Cuba, and Venezuela in a truly effective fashion across multiple fields, making positive contributions to peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development in the region and the world as a whole.