The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) and the Prensa Latina News Agency have committed to exchanging more news pictures and television records at talks between their top officials in Cuba.

The meeting with Prensa Latina President Luis Enrique Gonzalez came during VNA Director General Nguyen Duc Loi’s visit to Cuba from May 30 – June 3 to seek stronger cooperation between the two news agencies.

Gonzalez agreed to welcome more students assigned by the VNA to his agency, and train them in reporting and editing skills for periods up to 6 months.

He told Loi that his agency is paying attention to audio-visual and other multimedia forms.

He pledged to review and fully realise cooperation agreements between the both sides.

Loi, in his turn, said VNA is improving the quality of its coverage on the way to becoming a multimedia group in its role as the Government’s mainstream and trustworthy information source.

Though VNA television channel, known as Vnews, became active three years ago, it has grown into a popular and trustworthy broadcast channel in Vietnam, Loi said, adding that VNA plans to launch a radio channel in the coming time.

The guest also thanked Prensa Latina for helping VNA print and publish the Vietnam Pictorial publication in Cuba and Latin America, as well as for supporting the VNA bureau in the country.

Earlier, the Vietnamese delegation was received by head of the Party Central Committee’s Ideology Commission, Rolando Alfonso Borges, who highly valued the partnership between the two news agencies.

He proposed the two sides continue to share experience, effectively serving dissemination in each nation’s socialist-oriented construction and development.

Director General Loi briefed the host of Vietnam’s recent political and socio-economic development, especially tensions in the East Sea after China illegally deployed its drilling rig and various ships to operate in the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of Vietnam.

He affirmed the consistent policy of the Vietnamese Party, State and Government of seeking peaceful measures with avoidance of unfortunate conflicts while resolutely safeguarding the country’s sacred sovereignty.

During the visit, the delegation had working sessions with the leading board of the Cuban domestic news agency (AIN), during which the two sides agreed to continue boosting cooperation and news sharing under signed bilateral agreements.

The AIN pledged to continue providing news on Cuba, especially the country’s socio-economic development in localities.

AIN General Director Edda Garces proposed the VNA provide photo news on political, economic and social activities as well as the land and people of Vietnam.

The VNA delegation also visited and laid flowers at the Ernesto Che Guevara memorial site in central Villa Clara province and some historically and culturally significant places in Havana and Matanzas province.-VNA