Top Cuban legislator Esteban Lazo Hernandez concludes Vietnam visit
VOV.VN - Esteban Lazo Hernandez, President of the National Assembly of People’s Power of Cuba, left Hanoi on November 3, concluding his two-day official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Tran Thanh Man.
Hernandez and his entourage were seen off at Noi Bai International Airport by Vu Hai Ha, chairman of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee, and Orlando Nicolas Hernandez Guillen, Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam.
During his stay in Vietnam, the top Cuban legislator held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart, and met with Party Secretary General To Lam and President Luong Cuong.
Both sides reaffirmed that, over the 64 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the close and enduring ties between Vietnam and Cuba, fostered by President Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam and leader Fidel Castro of Cuba have continuously grown and become a rare model of strong political trust in international relations.
The Vietnamese leaders assured his guest that the Party, State, and people of Vietnam highly value and are committed to deepening the exemplary, loyal relationship with Cuba across all channels and in all fields. They vowed to preserve, develop, and pass this special relationship on to future generations alongside the Cuban people.
Both sides held that the traditional, special friendship between Vietnam and Cuba has continually been consolidated and strengthened across Party, State, parliamentary cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges, advancing more substantively in politics, economics-trade, security-defense, science, and technology.
This unique bilateral relationship has seen positive developments following Secretary-General and President To Lam’s state visit to Cuba in September 2024. During that visit, the two sides issued a Vietnam-Cuba Joint Statement, affirming their determination to advance their relationship to a new, comprehensive, effective, and sustainable level.
The Vietnamese leaders called for the removal of unilateral blockade and embargo against Cuba and advocated for Cuba to be removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism..
They said Vietnam seeks to deepen and enhance the effectiveness of cooperation with Cuba across all fields, maximizing the strengths of both countries as they look towards the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025, which has been designated the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Year.
Both sides expressed satisfaction with the positive development of relations between the two legislative bodies through high-level visits and important cooperative activities, effectively strengthening the special, loyal solidarity between Vietnam and Cuba.
The Vietnamese National Assembly vowed to deepen cooperation with the Cuban National Assembly through new, broader mechanisms, following the success of the first session of the Vietnam-Cuba Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee.
Specifically, the two legislative bodies will continue to exchange delegations at various levels, to share professional expertise in legislation, oversight, and decision-making, along with sharing information and experiences in parliamentary organization, institution building, and legal systems of mutual interest.
Both parties also agreed to actively implement the high-level commitments achieved during To Lam’s state visit to Cuba and the outcomes of the recent first inter-parliamentary session. They agreed to continue to work closely and support each other in international organizations and multilateral forums.
