Hanoi (VNA) – General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam andPresident Nguyen Phu Trong held talks on November 9 with President of the Council of State andCouncil of Ministers of Cuba Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez following awelcome ceremony held for the Cuban leader.

During the talks, the leaders briefed each otheron the situation in their respective countries and discussed orientations and measuresto deepen the special relationship between the two sides in an effective andpragmatic fashion.

They also exchanged viewpoints on regional andinternational issues of shared concern.

Party General Secretary and President Trong said theCuban President’s visit will generate momentum for the bilateral relationship.

Congratulating the Cuban people on achievementsthey have recorded recently, the host noted his belief that Cubans, under theleadership of First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Raul Castro, willgain even greater attainments in the time ahead.

He thanked the Cuban Government and people fortheir solidarity and valuable support for Vietnam.

Vietnam wishes to deepen bilateral ties, meeting theaspirations and interests of people of both countries, while activelycontributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the regionand the world, he said.

For his part, President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudezapplauded the reform achievements that the Vietnamese people have reaped overthe past nearly three decades, saying that Cuba would also like to learn fromVietnam’s development experience.

He also used this occasion to thank theVietnamese State and people for their solidarity and valuable support for theirCuban counterparts, and affirmed Cuba’s resolve to enhance the bilateral tiesin order to effectively contribute to development in each country.

ও[Photos: Vietnamese Party, State leader welcomes Cuban President in Hanoi]

The two leaders applauded the growth of their countries’comprehensive cooperation, including increasingly trustworthy political tiesthrough regular delegation exchanges and experience sharing.

Cooperation mechanisms between the Vietnameseand Cuban Governments, ministries, and sectors have been maintained and becomemore and more effective. Relations between the two parties, parliaments, andpeoples have also been enhanced, they noted.

The two sides pledged to keep close andall-round cooperation during their journeys of national construction anddevelopment. They will make efforts to intensify their exemplary fraternity,traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation, and faithful solidarity.

At the talks, the leaders also discussed severalmeasures to foster economic, trade, and investment partnerships in aresult-oriented manner; strength ties in defence, security, external relations,agriculture, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, healthcare, education, andscience-technology, and boost people-to-people exchange.

They applauded and emphasised the importance ofthe two Governments’ signing of a new trade agreement and a protocol on capitaldisbursement and financial management of the Vietnam-Cuba project oncooperation in rice production development for 2019-2023.

Party General Secretary and President Trong sharedthe Cuban President’s view that the current bilateral trade total at 240million USD each year does not reflect the two countries’ trade potential,demand, and supply capacity. They agreed to give relevant direction to activelypromote the implementation of the bilateral trade cooperation agreement, seek waysto facilitate businesses’ access to each other’s markets, and strive to raisetrade to 500 million USD by 2022.

The leaders also expressed their delight at theircountries’ growing coordination and mutual support at internationalorganisations and multilateral forums, especially the United Nations, theNon-Aligned Movement, and the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation.

Regarding international and regional situationsof shared concern, both sides shared the view that sovereignty and territorialdisputes need to be resolved by peaceful means with respect for internationallaw.

The Cuban President invited General Secretaryand President Trong to pay an official visit to his country in the near future.

Before the talks, on behalf of the VietnameseState, Party General Secretary and President Trong bestowed the Ho Chi MinhOrder upon the Cuban leader in recognition of the latter’s contributions tobilateral friendship and cooperation.

The same day, Minister of Industry and TradeTran Tuan Anh and Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung, representing theVietnamese Government, and Vice President of the Cuban Council of MinistersRicardo Cabrisas Ruiz, on behalf of the Cuban Government, signed the new tradeagreement and the protocol on capital disbursement and financial management ofthe cooperation in rice production development for 2019-2023. –VNA