Havana (VNA) – A delegation from the Authority of Publication, Printing and Distribution under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, led by Deputy Director Dinh Tien Dung, paid a working visit to Cuba from February 9 to 21 to update a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with and present books to the Cuban Book Institute.
At their working session, the two sides agreed to further strengthen collaboration and share experience in both print and digital publishing, with a view to promoting each country’s literature to readers in Vietnam, Cuba and the wider world.
Under the bilateral MoU, they will annually exchange the copyright of five titles for selection, publication and distribution in each country, as well as organise book launches and thematic seminars.
President of the Cuban Book Institute Juan Rodríguez Cabrera expressed appreciation for the Vietnamese delegation’s visit at a time when Cuba is facing considerable challenges, describing it as a testament to their steadfast and close ties.
For his part, Dung affirmed that Vietnam would always stand alongside Cuba in all circumstances. He announced that in the near future, the authority intends to invite several Cuban writers to Vietnam for literary exchanges and joint creative projects with Vietnamese authors.
Meanwhile, poet Huu Viet, an executive committee member of the Vietnam Writers’ Association, said that in a gesture of solidarity amid Cuba’s printing difficulties, the association plans to annually print five books selected by the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba. In addition, it expects to translate and publish in Vietnam two Cuban literary works each year, bringing Cuban authors closer to Vietnamese readers.
On the occasion, the Vietnamese delegation presented the Cuban union with a number of notable publications, including a comic series on the life and career of President Fidel Castro and the Spanish-language volume of the book “Hai dan toc, mot lich su” (two nations, one history), printed by Vietnamese publishing houses. These are the first of 12 titles that Vietnam plans to print and donate to Cuba at the request of the Cuban Embassy in Hanoi.
During their stay, the delegation also held working sessions with the union, visited several distribution facilities of the Cuban Book Institute and met with representatives of the Vietnamese Embassy in Cuba./.
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