A senior Vietnamese official has stated that Ho Chi Minh City is appreciative of its cooperation with Cuba, which spans many areas including bio-technology, medicine, infrastructure, tourism and food processing.

Deputy Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee Nguyen Van Dua made the statement while holding working sessions with top officials from the Party Committees in Havana and Santiago de Cuba, as part of his visit to the country, along with a delegation of Vietnamese businesses, from September 16-20.

Dua also briefed his hosts on the measures which have transformed HCM City into the country’s economic, education and hi-tech hub and reinforced its position as the core of the southern economic zone.

He noted that Vietnam will do its best to foster friendship and solidarity with Cuba in the time ahead.
Cuban officials said Vietnam’s experiences are helpful to Cuba, especially its major cities of Havana and Santiago de Cuba.

On the occasion, the Vietnamese guest symbolically presented 1,000 tonnes of rice to help Santiago de Cuba provide food for local people in the aftermath of last year’s Hurricane Sandy.

Meeting with Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (CPC)’s Central Committee and head of its International Relations Department Jose Ramon Balaguer, Dua expressed his belief that under the leadership of the CPC, the Cuban people will reap successes in reforming their economic models.

Balaguer said he hopes the visit will link HCM City and Cuban localities closer so that they may share development experience.

During the visit, Vietnamese and Cuban firms attended a business forum to explore areas of potential cooperation.

The Vietnamese delegation toured several economic and tourism facilities in Cuban localities and laid a wreath at a memorial dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh in Havana.-VNA