Cuba and Vietnam sign important agreements on collaboration

HAVANA, Cuba, Dec 30 (ACN) Important economic and scientific-technical collaboration agreements were signed this Tuesday during the XXXVIII Session of the Cuba-Vietnam Intergovernmental Commission, held online.
The documents were signed in the presence of Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz, Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment (Mincex), and Pham Hong Ha, Vietnamese Minister of Construction.

In the opening words of the meeting, the also co-president of the intergovernmental commission, Hong Ha, said this meeting was part of the celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between both countries, characterized by comradeship and mutual trust.

Among the legal instruments signed was an agreement for the extension of the rice project in phase V (2019-2023), and another for cooperation and joint businesses in the fishing sector.

The parties also signed an agreement for the bilateral economic agenda in the medium term, between 2020 and 2025, agreed during the visit of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez to the Asian nation in November 2018.

Malmierca Díaz stated that in this document the main sectors of the bilateral cooperation to be promoted were constituted, such as the agrifood sector -to implement the production of rice, coffee, grains and aquaculture products in Cuba-, biotechnology and oil exploration.

There were also signed memorandums of understanding in scientific cooperation, such as the agreement for the development of field studies of the Cuban vaccine PORVAC against the classic porcine fever in the Asian nation.

It was also agreed to implement joint tasks on science, technology and innovation policies and it was established the Protocol of the XXXVIII Session of the Intergovernmental Commission for Economic and Scientific-Technical Collaboration between Hanoi and Havana.

At the end of the meeting, the Friendship Medal was granted, in a virtual way, to the Vietnamese Minister, Hong Ha, for his contribution to the strengthening and deepening of economic, commercial and scientific-technical links.

This governmental mechanism will allow the projection of the main actions to be developed jointly in the period 2020-2025, in addition to strengthening economic and commercial relations between both nations.

Vietnam is Cuba's second commercial partner in the Asian region and among the first 20 at global level, and it stands out for promoting multiple initiatives for the development of food programs in Cuba.