Hanoi (VNA) - President of the National Assembly of People’s Power and President of the Council of State of Cuba Esteban Lazo Hernández left Hanoi on October 5 night, successfully concluding his six-day official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man.
He was seen off at Noi Bai International Airport by Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Thanh, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang, among others.
While in Vietnam, the Cuban leader laid wreaths at the Mausoleum of President Ho Chi Minh, the monument to war heroes and martyrs, and the statue of Cuban national hero José Martí in Hanoi. He was received by Party General Secretary To Lam, met with State President Luong Cuong and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and held talks with NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man.
General Secretary Lam laid stress on Vietnam’s commitment to consolidating the time-honoured solidarity and all-round cooperation with Cuba, emphasising that the ties between the two Communist Parties form the cornerstone of the bilateral relations. He urged the Cuban parliament to continue facilitating economic, trade, and investment cooperation, particularly in agriculture, renewable energy, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals, serving the development needs in each nation. The Party chief suggested both sides foster the exchange of theories and practical experience as Vietnam will organise the 14th National Party Congress and Cuba will hold the ninth National Party Congress next year.
For his part, Lazo Hernández praised Vietnam’s achievements under the leadership of the Communist Party over the recent past, expressing his confidence that the country will deliver on its strategic goals in the new era. He also underlined Cuba’s interest in drawing lessons from Vietnam’s reform process as the Caribbean country prepares for its ninth National Party Congress in 2026.
In the meetings with State President Cuong and PM Chinh, the leaders of both countries voiced their appreciation for the exemplary Vietnam-Cuba relationship, founded by President Ho Chi Minh and leader Fidel Castro Ruz and nurtured by successive generations of leaders and people. They praised the state visit to Cuba by Party General Secretary and State President To Lam in September 2024 and the state visit to Vietnam by First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee and President of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez in early September 2025 as important milestones that deepened political trust and opened new directions for economic, trade and investment cooperation.
Both sides pledged to closely monitor the implementation of agreements, particularly in food security, energy, and biotechnology, while preparing joint activities to celebrate the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025 as well as creating favourable conditions to encourage broader participation by organisations and enterprises from both countries in each nation's socio-economic development. Besides, they concurred to promote collaboration in economy – trade and investment, especially in the strategic areas that high-ranking leaders of both sides agreed, and expand cooperation in other potential domains.
The talks between NA Chairman Man and his Cuban counterpart Lazo Hernández took place in an atmosphere of warm friendship. The two leaders shared updates on their respective countries and recent parliamentary activities, exchanging notes on directions and measures to further strengthen the special friendship, solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the Parties, States, parliaments and people of Vietnam and Cuba. They also discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern.
Both leaders were unanimous to exchange experience in legislative work, implement major the Party's decisions in the new era, and prepare for and successfully hold the National Party Congresses of the two nations in 2026. They committed to sharing expertise and encouraging enterprise development, attracting foreign investment, managing finance, developing agricultural production, applying science and technology, digital transformation and other areas of common parliamentary interest, thereby contributing to consolidating, diversifying and improving the effectiveness of Vietnam-Cuba comprehensive cooperation.
At the second session of Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, the two sides discussed ways to improve policy frameworks for enterprise development, foreign investment attraction, application of advanced technology in agricultural production, and biotech and health collaboration. They also evaluated and outlined measures to promote the effective implementation of the signed agreements, while affirming enhanced coordination at international and regional inter-parliamentary forums where both parliaments are members. Both sides pledged to increase consultation on legislative development to facilitate the implementation of bilateral commitments and coordinate in building and perfecting special mechanisms to encourage Vietnamese enterprises to expand investment in Cuba, and bolster cooperation between localities.
The session concluded with a joint communiqué, announcing that the committee’s third meeting will be held in Havana.
During his stay in Vietnam, the Cuban leader paid working trips to Ho Chi Minh City and Hung Yen province and visited the Vietnam Military History Museum./.
