He made the affirmation when receiving in Hanoi on October 6 Standing Deputy Minister of Economic Cooperation and Foreign Investment of Cuba Ramon Ripoll Diaz, who is the head of the Cuban delegation to the 24^th session of the Vietnam-Cuba Intergovernmental Committee.

He said the two countries need to coordinate more closely to increase the efficiency of their cooperation under signed economic contracts so as to contribute to fulfilling their socio-economic targets.

The Vietnamese government leader held that the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Cuba is growing fruitfully, largely owing to the close collaboration of the two countries' intergovernmental committee which helped clear obstacles for bilateral cooperation.

On this occasion, PM Dung asked the Cuban guest to convey to Fidel Castro best regards and wish for his quick recovery.
The Cuban official told his host that he was pleased to see increases in his country's imports of Vietnamese rice, computer and power-saving light bulbs.

He also spoke of Vietnam's contribution to Cuba's successful hosting of the conference of the Non-aligned Movement and wished that Vietnam would continue supporting Cuba in the cause of building socialism.

Meanwhile, Vietnam and Cuba agreed to continue implementing 19 economic, trade, and scientific and technological cooperation projects at the 24th annual session of the Vietnam-Cuba Inter-governmental Committee, which concluded on October 6.
These include five projects in trade, six in economic development, and eight in science and technology.

The two sides approved the 2006-2007 trade and economic cooperation plan covering 11 specific fields, including agriculture, seafood, science and technology.
The two sides strictly reviewed the implementation of the agreements signed at the 23rd session. They noted encouraging achievements made during the implementation of the contracts to export rice, computer components, electric fans and compact bulbs.

Also the same day, the Ministry of Fisheries presented several varieties of tilapia to the Cuban Ministry of Fisheries with a view to helping diversify varieties of aquatic products in the country.