havana/Cuba and Vietnam agreed this Monday in Havana on a protocol that covers more than 50 new agreements to strengthen bilateral cooperation in several sectors of the economy, trade, investments and other areas such as education and science . The document is the result of the 41st Intergovernmental Commission for bilateral economic and scientific-technical cooperation, closed by the first deputy ministers of Vietnam, Tran Luu Quang, and the Island, Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz.
“The event is good to repeat the great thanks from the Communist Party of Cuba and the Government, for the Vietnamese donation of 1,640 tons of rice, which will arrive in our country soon,” said Cabrisas, who is also the head of Foreign trade and investment abroad.
The arrival of the product is celebrated by senior officials of the Government, starting with the Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero. “I want to thank you on behalf of the Party, the Government and the people of Cuba for the news about the new donation of rice to our country. It is an issue that has a lot of impact on the people in this complex time that we are going through. through and this is also part of that sensitivity that Vietnamese leaders had to add to our country’s food sovereignty,” he said at his meeting with Tran Luu Quang.
“It is an issue that has a lot of impact on the people in this complex time that we are going through and this is also part of the sensitivity that the leaders of Vietnam have had. “
Also in the meeting with the president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, the donation was mentioned, as well as a credit given for the purchase of the grain – “a very important move for us ,” he said -, who has promised to buy the grain. distribution of rice from several months through the family basket.
Although they have not been enough to solve the demand for a staple product in the Cuban diet, free shipments of Vietnamese rice are common. In 2023, the official press announced at least three shipments, one of 5,000 tons in May, another of 2,000 in September and 1,200 at the end of October, as well as cooperation for grain production until 2025.
However, the collaboration of Vietnamese technicians failed in the town of La Sierpe, in Sancti Spíritus. The Asian professionals, who had arrived in Cuba 20 years earlier with equipment and tools, did not achieve the expected results and ended up leaving in the middle of 2022. leaving the project mortally wounded.
Despite this, Díaz-Canel spoke of “the sensitivity and support of the Vietnamese business community, which has chosen its businesses in Cuba, despite all the financial problems” and thought of “their common history. ” “We are two countries that bravely faced our enemies”; “we are two countries committed to socialist construction”; “We are two countries that respect each other, we love each other, we respect each other,” the president suggested.
The rest of the agreements extend to all kinds of areas, from agriculture and fisheries to biotechnology, health, construction, transport, finance, science, technology and the environment, culture, tourism, sports, education, business, energy and mines, information and communication, higher education, finance and customs, labor and social security, and justice.
“We are two countries that bravely faced our enemies”; “We are two countries committed to socialist construction”
In addition, it was agreed to promote the development of Vietnamese investment projects in Cuba, basically those established in the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM).
Cabrisas pointed out the purpose of increasing commercial exchanges with the Asian country on a “mutually beneficial” basis and which contributes to Vietnamese companies investing in priority sectors, such as agricultural industry, tourism and renewable energy.
