Vietnam and Cuba seek to increase economic cooperation

The desire was shared by Vietnamese and Cuban officials at a Vietnam – Cuba business forum held in Havana, Cuba, on April 21 evening (local time).

The forum attracted leading businesses specializing in the fields of agriculture, food, fisheries, energy, industry, construction, real estate, tourism, commerce, aviation.

It was attended by Prime Minister of Cuba Manuel Marrero Cruz and Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Vuong Dinh Hue, who was in Havana for an official visit to Cuba.

In his opening speech, Deputy Prime Minister cum Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment of Cuba Ricardo Cabrisas recalled the results of the recent session of the Cuba-Vietnam Intergovernmental Committee during which both sides had examined measures to enhance bilateral cooperation in economy, trade, investment, science-technology, among others.

Agreements reached in health, pharmacy, biology, agriculture, investment and other fields should be implemented quickly and effectively, enabling the two sides to increase trade exchanges and promote new fields of cooperation, for mutual interest, he said.

Cabrisas, who is also co-chairman of the Cuba-Vietnam Intergovernmental Committee, added that both sides had identified new areas of cooperation that could be concretized in a short time and have a great impact on priority areas, such as agricultural production, food, renewable energy, tourism, construction and others.

Acknowledging the two countries’ great potential for stronger economic cooperation, the Cuban official called on the two business communities to seek new business opportunities to realize the goal.

Whether or not we realize the goal heavily depends on efforts of both sides, stressed Cabrisas, who also expressed his belief Cuba would thrive with the Vietnamese engagement.

For his part, Vietnamese Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi noted trade and investment cooperation remains an important pillar in Vietnam – Cuba relations.

According to the Vietnamese official, Vietnam is currently Cuba’s second largest Asian trading partner, with their two-way trade turnover reaching about US$250-350 million in the 2015-2020 period.

The Vietnam - Cuba Trade Agreement, which was signed in November 2018 and officially took effect from April 2020, lays an important legal foundation for the two business communities to take advantage of tariff preferences to increase two-way trade turnover to US$500 million in the following five years.

In addition, Vietnam is currently the largest Asian investor in Cuba with five operating projects, focusing on production of building materials, diapers, washing powder and detergent, industrial park development, and solar power generation.

These projects have partially met Cuba’s market demand for consumer goods, greatly reducing imports, creating more jobs for local workers, and most importantly, contributing to the local manufacturing industry, said Nghi, who is also co-chairman of the Cuba-Vietnam Intergovernmental Committee.

At the forum, the two sides examined the potential for cooperation in the areas of common interest, provided a market update, explored trade preferential and foreign investment attraction policies of Cuba, and studied Cuba’s list of potential projects in the Caribbean state.

At the end of the forum, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz and Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements between businesses of the two countries in the fields of electricity, oil and gas, construction materials and aviation.