Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn (right) welcomes Cuba’s First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gerardo Peñalver Portal. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

HÀ NỘI — Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn hosted a reception in Hà Nội on Tuesday for Cuba’s First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Gerardo Peñalver Portal, who is on an official visit to Việt Nam for the seventh political consultation between the two foreign ministries.

Sơn spoke highly of the results of the deputy ministerial-level political consultation, which reviewed the bilateral agenda and reached a consensus on measures to strengthen ties.

He suggested both sides facilitate high-level delegations and visits by ministries, agencies and businesses; reinforce bilateral trade and investment; make better use of cooperation mechanisms between the Parties, Governments, ministries and agencies; and offer all possible support to Vietnamese enterprises to do business in Cuba.

Portal said Cuba wants to deepen the other special traditional relationship and comprehensive partnership with Việt Nam.

He thanked the Vietnamese Party, State and people for supporting Cuba in the cause of national construction and development, most recently material and spiritual support following the oil storage facility fire in Matanzas city on August 5.

Both sides agreed to prepare for political and high-level exchanges in 2022-23, and improve the efficiency of cooperation mechanisms to lift economic-trade-investment ties further, thus tightening unique and political relations and comprehensive partnership between the two nations.

During his visit from August 28 – September 1, Portal is scheduled to meet with the head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations, Lê Hoài Trung, Minister of Construction and co-chair of the Việt Nam – Cuba Inter-Governmental Committee Nguyễn Thanh Nghị, Chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee for External Relations and Chairman of the Việt Nam – Cuba Friendship Parliamentarians Group Vũ Hải Hà, and pay a working visit to HCM City. — VNS