Vietnam, Cuba convene Inter-Governmental Committee’s 40th meeting
VOV.VN - The 40th meeting of the Vietnam-Cuba Inter-Governmental Committee was held virtually on December 20.
Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz, who is also Co-Chair of the committee, said despite facing a lot of difficulties caused by the embargo and COVID-19, Cuba and Vietnam have facilitated cooperation in healthcare, agriculture, trade, investment, construction, information-communications, education-training, science and technology.
Cuba has set targets of ensuring macro-economic stability, restoring power generation capacity, enhancing the exploitation of renewable energy and food production, reviving tourism, and increasing the supply of public goods and services, he said.
Vietnamese Minister of Construction and co-chair of the committee Nguyen Thanh Nghi stated that ties between both nations have been sustained via increasing political dialogues and high-level meetings.
The two sides agreed upon the positive outcomes in realizing commitments made at the 39th session. Notably, two-way trade over the past 11 months of this year hit US$136.4 million. A number of conferences and seminars were held both via online and in-person platforms to discuss contents of the Vietnam-Cuba Trade Agreement.
Vietnam has maintained stable rice export to Cuba, helping the Caribbean nation ensure food security and social stability. Vietnamese companies have run effective investment projects in Cuba, including the ViMariel industrial park, a joint venture making tile and sanitary wares, among others. The bilateral project in rice farming for 2019-2023 is going as schedule.
Minister Nghi used the occasion to ask the Cuban Government to deal with obstacles in joint projects to bring practical benefits to both sides.
On the occasion of the 40th meeting of the Vietnam-Cuba Inter-Governmental Committee, Vietnamese companies investing in Cuba presented 500 tonnes of rice to the Cuban people. The rice is scheduled to be delivered in January next year.
Next year, the two sides will augment cooperation in priority areas of trade, investment, agriculture, fisheries, health, construction, information-communications and other fields such as finance, customs, banking, education and training, culture, sports, tourism, labour-invalids and social affairs, broadcasting, justice, archives, science and technology.
Vietnam stays ready to share its experience with Cuba in foreign investment attraction, development of economic and hi-tech parks, construction and financial-monetary management, sci-tech and innovation.