President Truong Tan Sang arrived in Jose Marti Habana Airport in Cuba’s capital on September 28 night (Havana time), starting his two-day official visit to the Caribbean country. 


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President Truong Tan Sang arrived in Jose Marti Habana Airport on September 28 night (Havana time). 


As scheduled, he will hold talks with Cuban President of the State Council and the Council of Ministers Raul Castro and meet Cuban Parliament Speaker Esteban Lazo. 

He is to lay a wreath at the President Ho Chi Minh Statue, visit Nguyen Van Troi and Vo Thi Thang primary schools, and meet the Vietnamese community in Cuba. 

He will attend a Vietnam-Cuba business forum and the signing ceremony of a cooperation agreement for a project to construct a five-star hotel complex in Cuba. He will also inspect Calimete rice production project before concluding his visit. 

Over the past 55 years, the bilateral comprehensive cooperation and solidarity has continually developed. Cuba was a pioneer in the international movement to support Vietnam’s past struggle for national liberation and currently pays significant attention to boosting multi-faceted cooperation with Vietnam, particularly in agriculture, education, health, bio-technology, transport and sports. 

Bilateral trade increased from 175 million USD in 2012 to 200 million USD in 2014. Vietnam mainly exports rice and consumer goods to Cuba while buying medicine and biological products from the country.

President’s Cuba visit to enhance friendship: Ambassador

President Truong Tan Sang’s visit to Cuba aims to intensify political relations and economic links between the two countries, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Duong Minh.

During his interview granted to Cuba-based Vietnam News Agency correspondents, Ambassador Minh highlighted the great potential for Vietnam and Cuba to strengthen their bilateral relations, especially in economic cooperation.

The exchange of socialism building experience between the two countries will be both useful and practical to their respective processes of national construction and development, he stressed.

According to the diplomat, Vietnam is strong in agricultural development – especially in rice and coffee cultivation and aquaculture – as well as in telecommunications and electronics while Cuba boasts impressive education-training, healthcare, biotechnology and tourism. As such, the two sides are able to support each other and further promote economic and trade cooperation.

Ambassador Minh also reviewed the developments in Vietnam-Cuba relations, which were established in 1960 after Cuba’s successful revolution, highlighting the great support from the Cuban Government to Vietnam during its US resistance war.

Cuba provided Vietnam with a substantial volume of sugar and assisted the nation in building strategic projects such as the Dong Hoi Hospital, Thang Loi Hotel, Xuan Mai Road, Ba Vi dairy factory and Luong My chicken farm, he cited.

Movements to back Vietnam in its fight against the US were common in Cuba and in 1973, Cuban President Fidel Castro became the first and only world leader crossing the 17th parallel to visit Vietnamese soldiers who were fighting in southern battlefields, Minh noted, affirming that the Vietnamese people will never forget the valuable assistance provided by their Cuban friends.

After 1975, the friendship between the two countries has continued to be reinforced and developed both share the same ambition of building socialism.

In his conclusion, Ambassador Minh believed that President Truong Tan Sang’s visit would lay a firm foundation for strengthening the Vietnam-Cuba friendship, which has been nurtured over the last 55 years.

VNA