Hanoi (VNA) - Cuba is committed to creating favourable conditions and offering greater incentives, while also being ready to listen to and address difficulties and obstacles to enable Vietnamese enterprises to do business in the country, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (CPC) Central Committee and President of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez affirmed on September 2.
The top Cuban leader made the statement while joining Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in a meeting with Vietnamese businesses to boost bilateral trade and investment collaboration, as part of his state visit to Vietnam.
Highly valuing the capacity of Vietnamese enterprises, he noted that in his meetings and talks with leaders of the Vietnamese Party and State, the two sides reached many important agreements, with particular emphasis on strengthening the presence of more Vietnamese firms in Cuba.
The guest leader thanked Vietnamese ministries, sectors, and businesses for their cooperation with and support for Cuba in agriculture and energy projects, which have made important contributions to ensuring Cuba’s energy and food security. He showed his wish for Vietnam to further promote and expand cooperation and investment with Cuba, particularly in agriculture, livestock, aquaculture; biotechnology, pharmaceuticals; consumer goods production; goods distribution and retail; tourism; real estate; and oil and gas exploration and exploitation, to meet the needs of the two peoples and for export. He also called for technology transfer, joint research, and product commercialisation cooperation in order to contribute more to Cuba’s socio-economic development.
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee and President of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez addresses the meeting with Vietnamese businesses. (Photo: VNA)
PM Chinh, in turn, called on Vietnamese enterprises to put themselves in Cuba’s current position and, from that perspective, share with Cuba just as Cuba once shared with Vietnam.
Recalling the words of leader Fidel Castro, “For Vietnam, Cuba is willing to shed its own blood,” the PM hoped that Vietnamese firms will embrace the spirit of “For Cuba, be ready to devote time, effort, and intellect,” thereby reflecting the steadfast and loyal tradition of the Vietnamese nation.
Emphasising the importance of intellect, time, and decisiveness, he called on enterprises of both countries to cooperate with sincerity from the heart and rationality of the mind in order to achieve practical results.
The Government chief assigned the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and Vietnamese companies to continue studying and expanding rice cultivation areas in Cuba and improving productivity, while also exploring the development of models for fruit crops, livestock, and aquaculture, to ensure sufficient food supply for the Cuban people right in Cuba. He also proposed Cuban enterprises enhance cooperation and investment in Vietnam, especially in fields where Cuba has strengths and Vietnam has demand, such as biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.
The PM also showed his hope that the two countries’ enterprises will actively propose mechanisms and policies to solve difficulties and obstacles, thereby increasing the number and effectiveness of bilateral cooperation and investment projects; as well as propose new projects and programmes, including studying the possibility of direct flights, tourism cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges. He urged both sides to support and share experience with each other in the spirit of “harmonised interests, shared risks,” and “say it, do it; once committed, it must be fulfilled; once done, it must yield results.”
At the meeting, Vietnamese enterprises were briefed on Cuba’s policies, guidelines, and priority orientations, while also exchanging views, raising recommendations, and making proposals regarding difficulties and obstacles in implementing investment projects there. The two sides discussed and put forward effective and breakthrough solutions to turn cooperation potential into concrete economic projects, bringing practical benefits to the peoples of both countries.
Vietnam is currently Cuba’s second-largest trading partner and the largest investor from the Asia-Pacific region. Bilateral trade reached 57.33 million USD in 2023 and 134.7 million USD in the first eight months of 2024, and both sides are striving to reach 500 million USD within the next five years.
Vietnam is the largest Asian investor in Cuba, with at least seven active projects and a total committed capital of over 160 million USD. However, these outcomes remain modest compared to Cuba’s potential and the capacity of Vietnamese enterprises./.
