Top Cuban legislator Esteban Lazo Hernandez begins Vietnam visit
VOV.VN - The President of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba, Esteban Lazo Hernandez, arrived in Hanoi on September 24, beginning a five-day official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of the Vietnamese Party and State leaders.
Esteban Lazo Hernandez is scheduled to attend a ceremony to mark 50 years of leader Fidel Castro’s trip to the liberated zone in Southern Vietnam.
The commemorative ceremony will be held in Quang Tri province, central Vietnam, on September 26, by the administration of Quang Tri province in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Cuban Embassy in Vietnam.
The celebration aims to increase understanding among people of the two countries, especially younger generations, about the history and meaning of the Vietnam-Cuba relationship cultivated by leader Fidel Castro and President Ho Chi Minh.
During a meeting with Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel in New York on the sidelines of the recent 78th UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed the Party, State, Government, National Assembly and people of Vietnam will never forget Cuba’s wholehearted support for Vietnam’s national liberation struggle in the past.
Chinh also said Vietnam is determined to deepen the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Cuba, as well as to support the just revolutionary cause of the Cuban people.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel affirmed that the Cuba-Vietnam relationship is a noble symbol of comradeship and close friendship, founded by President Fidel Castro of Cuba and President Ho Chi Minh of Vietnam, and cultivated by generations of leaders of the two countries over the past decades.
He also thanked the Government and people of Vietnam for their support to help Cuba overcome difficulties caused by western sanctions.
Vietnam and Cuba established diplomatic relations on December 2, 1960, two years after the success of the Cuban Revolution. Vietnam has supported Cuba in developing rice, corn and soybean production and aquaculture. Cuba imports about 300,000 - 400,000 tonnes of rice from Vietnam annually.
Several Vietnamese enterprises are implementing investment projects in Cuba, focusing on building industrial park infrastructure, producing construction materials, and washing powder. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuba provided Vietnam with 5 million doses of vaccines.
Due to the pandemic impact, two-way trade turnover between the two counties fell 30% last year to nearly US$182 million.
