National Assembly (NA) Chairman Tran Thanh Man and President of the National Assembly of People's Power and President of the Council of State of Cuba Esteban Lazo Hernandez co‑chaired the second session of the Vietnam-Cuba Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee at the National Assembly House on October 1 in Hanoi.

In his opening speech, NA Chairman Man affirmed that over the past 65 years, Vietnam-Cuba relations have continuously developed and grown stronger, becoming a model of pure, steadfast, and close international solidarity. In this special relationship, the two legislative bodies have played an increasingly important role. As representatives of their people’s aspirations, they are not only trusted channels of political diplomacy but also key drivers in deepening bilateral cooperation.

Through legislative work and policy development, both legislatures have helped create a favourable environment for substantive, effective, and sustainable cooperation across a variety of fields, serving the practical interests of their peoples and reinforcing the solidarity between the two nations.

In the current context, enhancing inter‑parliamentary cooperation helps strengthen political and diplomatic foundations between the two sides while expanding and improving cooperation in economics, education, biotechnology and health, science and technology, defence and security, as well as people‑to‑people exchanges.

The top Vietnamese legislator stated that the second session, following the success of the first held in 2024 in Havana, demonstrates a strong political commitment by both NAs to continually strengthen and deepen the special friendship between Vietnam and Cuba. This session also provided an opportunity to comprehensively assess bilateral cooperation results and the role of parliaments in stepping up cooperation, especially following Party General Secretary To Lam’s State visit to Cuba in September 2024, and to exchange experience in legislative work.

For his part, President Esteban Lazo Hernández expressed deep appreciation for the unique moments in Vietnam-Cuba relations, noting that the session serves as a platform for monitoring the implementation of agreements reached between the two Parties and States, expanding investment, enhancing cooperation in priority sectors, and concretely carrying out the outcomes agreed upon during the leaders’ bilateral talks on September 30.

President Lazo stressed the Caribbean nation’s commitment to promoting policies that facilitate trade and cooperation between the two countries and affirmed the importance Hanoi attaches to the participation of Vietnamese enterprises in modernising Cuba’s economic model. He also reiterated his appreciation for Vietnam’s invaluable role in supporting the nation’s stability and development and expressed gratitude to Vietnamese organisations for their assistance over the years.

Within a spirit of friendship and trust, delegates from both sides hailed the robust development of Vietnam-Cuba relations and the vital role of inter-parliamentary cooperation in strengthening them. They affirmed their determination to continue supporting and deepening the relationship both bilaterally and between the two NAs.

Representatives from the two parliaments, ministries, and the Vietnamese delegation in the Vietnam-Cuba Intergovernmental Committee reported on cooperation, proposed measures, and recommended legal and policy adjustments to remove obstacles and enhance bilateral cooperation, particularly in economics, trade, investment, agriculture, biotechnology, and health.

Both sides exchanged views and shared experience on policy and legislative frameworks to encourage business development, attract foreign investment, apply technology in agriculture, and bolster cooperation in biotechnology and healthcare, tailored to their national conditions. They also evaluated achievements and outlined measures to ensure the proper implementation of signed agreements.

They also pledged to further boost close cooperation at both bilateral and multilateral inter‑parliamentary forums and to consider joint supervision mechanisms to improve the effectiveness of agreements.

Chairmen Tran Thanh Man and Esteban Lazo Hernández concurred to enhance consultations on law-making, facilitate the implementation of bilateral commitments, develop specific cooperation mechanisms, and boost Vietnamese business investment in Cuba, especially boosting locality-to-locality cooperation for common socio-economic development.

The session concluded with a joint communiqué recognising the results of the second session of the Vietnam-Cuba Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee and agreeing to hold the third session in Havana, Cuba.

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