Participants at a seminar held in Hanoi on November 6 discussed prospects of cooperation between Vietnam and member states of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas, known as ALBA.

They said Vietnam and the alliance’s member states should enhance their multifaceted cooperation, especially in agriculture, energy, transport, telecommunications and services.

During the seminar “ALBA: Development and Challenges”, Venezuelan Ambassador to Vietnam Jorge Rondon Uzcategui and Cuban Ambassador Herminio Lopez Diaz gave a brief about the formation and development of the alliance, its objectives and its cultural and socio-economic achievements, as well as the challenges it is facing.

On December 14, 2004, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuban President Fidel Castro signed a joint statement on the establishment of the alliance.

The group now includes Venezuela , Cuba , Ecuador , Bolivia , Nicaragua , Antigua and Barbuda , Dominica , San Civente, Santa Lucia and Granadinas.

The alliance aims to enhance solidarity among Latin American and Caribbean peoples, ensure independence and self-reliance and promote typical identity of its member states alongside focusing on the fight against poverty and socio-economic backwardness.

The seminar was co-hosted by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations and the Venezuelan and Cuban embassies in Vietnam.-VNA