President Võ Văn Thưởng receives Esteban Lazo Hernandez, President of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba during his visit to Việt Nam to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the visit of Cuban leader Fidel Castro to the liberated zone in Southern Việt Nam (September 1973 – September 2023). — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — State President Võ Văn Thưởng affirmed Việt Nam’s unwavering commitment to supporting and cooperating with Cuba, with a mutual agreement to encourage Vietnamese businesses to invest in Cuba and create favourable conditions for bilateral trade.

Thưởng made these remarks on Monday upon receiving Esteban Lazo Hernandez, member of the Politburo and president of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba during his visit to Việt Nam to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Cuban leader Fidel Castro's visit to the liberated zone in Southern Việt Nam (September 1973 – September 2023).

During the meeting, Thưởng highlighted the significant importance of this visit, describing it as a special occasion to recall the cooperative traditions and the strong bond between the two countries.

It was also an opportunity to remember the deep feelings of Fidel Castro, the Cuban state, and its people for their contributions to Việt Nam's liberation, construction, and development, he said.

President of the NA of Cuba, Esteban Lazo Hernandez, expressed that through his four visits to Việt Nam, he had always been pleased to witness the significant and tremendous achievements of Việt Nam over time.

He conveyed the warm greetings and friendly regards from General Raúl Castro Ruz and the First Secretary and President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, to President Thưởng.

President Esteban Lazo Hernandez confirmed that Cuba highly values and desires to deepen its special and comprehensive traditional relationship with Việt Nam. He expressed his gratitude to the Vietnamese Party, State, and people for their solidarity, sincere support, and practical assistance to Cuba's efforts in safeguarding, building, and developing the nation.

The President provided an overview of Cuba's recent situation and the challenges it currently faces. He also shared the policies and measures that the Party and State of Cuba have implemented to improve the people's living conditions and their plans to enhance the socio-economic situation in the near future.

President Esteban Lazo Hernandez expressed his hope that Việt Nam would continue sharing experiences and lessons from its national reform process with the Cuban people, as well as Việt Nam's experience in organising and managing small businesses. He hoped that more Vietnamese businesses would increase their investments in Cuba.

President Thưởng affirmed that Việt Nam has always stood by Cuba and is ready to share its experiences and lessons learned from coping with challenges such as economic sanctions, natural disasters, and the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In various regional and international forums, Việt Nam consistently advocates for the lifting of the embargo on Cuba.

Based on their strong fraternal relations, President Thưởng proposed that the two countries continue to coordinate closely to further enhance their comprehensive cooperation relationship. This could be achieved through high-level agreements and existing cooperation mechanisms to maximise the positive outcomes of dialogue and collaboration between the two sides, promoting parliamentary diplomacy and people-to-people exchanges.

President Thưởng emphasised that despite recent challenges, Cuba has made great efforts to achieve positive results. He congratulated Cuba on the successful organisation of the G77+China Summit and the adoption of the Havana Declaration, demonstrating Cuba's active contributions to global initiatives and its continued effort to enhance its international position.

Earlier on Monday, President of the NA of Cuba, Esteban Lazo Hernandez, and his delegation laid a wreath at the Mausoleum of the late President Hồ Chí Minh. — VNS