A meeting was held between the Cuban National Assembly delegation and HCM City businesses on October 3. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Cuba is calling for more Vietnamese investment in agriculture and technology, according to a meeting held between the Cuban National Assembly delegation and HCM City businesses on October 3.

Cuban National Assembly President Esteban Lazo Hernández said that the Cuban economy is facing challenges after a period of embargo, so the country has issued several investment attraction initiatives outside of its current legal framework.

This will create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to invest and implement socio-economic development projects in Cuba until 2030. The goal is to help Cuba overcome this difficult period, especially in the fields of finance, capital and foreign currency liquidity.

The Cuban Government is focusing on helping local Vietnamese businesses in resolving bottlenecks, especially in finance and speeding up administrative procedures, he said.

Currently a trial model for rice production is being carried out in Cuba, spanning over 1,000ha, with an output of 7.3 tonnes per ha, and using Vietnamese rice seeds, equipment and farming techniques.

Cuba wants to expand this model to improve the country’s rice production and ensure national food security, he said, adding that Cuba can grant free agricultural land use right, and there are plenty of land available for Vietnamese businesses.

The country is also keen on developing farming for fruit trees, crops for animal feed, and fertiliser production.

Doing business in Cuba is also an opportunity to export to Caribbean and Latin American countries.

He said that there are other venues of co-operation and investment, including pharmacy, bio-tech, healthcare, construction and digital transformation, and Cuba is also creating favourable conditions for firms to invest in real estate and building a suitable exchange rate mechanism to support business operations.

The country wants to learn from Việt Nam in developing solar energy for households.

Nguyễn Văn Dũng, deputy chairman of HCM City, said that Việt Nam and Cuba, while far in terms of distance, have always been close friends with 65 years of loyal friendship.

Cuba is a market with high potentials in healthcare, bio-tech, agriculture, consumer goods and tourism. With its strategic location in the Caribbean region, Cuba can become a gateway for Vietnamese goods to access the Latin American market.

Dũng said that while Cuba has made great efforts in improving its investment climate and issuing favourable policies, there are still challenges in terms of legal procedures, infrastructures, and global geo-political factors.

Two countries’ trade promotion agencies are greatly important in connecting and supporting businesses, and ensuring that investment projects are implemented smoothly.

“HCM City is always ready to act as a bridge so that businesses from both sides can access information, exchange experiences, seek opportunities and gradually realise investment cooperation plans,” Dũng said, adding that the two countries’ bi-lateral trade co-operation will see strong growths in the coming time.

Trần Thanh Tú, board chairman of the Thái Bình Investment Trading Corporation, which has invested in Cuba for nearly 30 years, said that Cuba is making strong reforms in terms of mechanisms and preferential policies, creating favourable conditions for investors from Việt Nam.

Vietnamese companies can take advantage of this to invest in Cuba, creating a stepping stone to further penetrate the South American market, which still has much room for development.

This meeting is part of a visit of top Cuban officials to Việt Nam from September 30 to October 5. — VNS