HÀ NỘI – Chairwoman of the Vietnamese National Assembly, Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân, has been awarded the Solidarity Order of the Cuban State Council.

She has been awarded in recognition of her contributions to the fraternal friendship and special solidarity between the two countries.

The award was presented to the Vietnamese legislator by Fernando Gonzalez Llort, President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with Peoples (ICAP), in Hà Nội on Wednesday. 

Expressing her pride and honour to receive the award, Ngân pledged to do her best to consolidate and further develop the bilateral relationship. Llort said the award recognised Ngân’s contribution to bilateral ties in her capacity as President of the Việt Nam-Cuba Friendship Association (VCFA) as well as in other positions.

 As VCFA President, together with the Cuba-Việt Nam Friendship Association, Ngân has carried out a range of exchange activities, Llort said.

 He mentioned the time when Ngân led a Vietnamese delegation to pay tribute to (late) Cuban leader Fidel Castro in 2016.

Highlighting the strong friendship between Việt Nam and Cuba in the fight against poverty and underdevelopment, Llort promised that he, in the capacity of ICAP President, would make more efforts to foster solidarity between the parties, governments and people of the two countries. 

The same day, Ngân hosted a reception for Llort and members of the Cuban delegation, during which they expressed their satisfaction over the successful trip of Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng to Cuba in March.

According to them, the visit served as an impetus to the traditional friendship between the two countries. They said the solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Việt Nam and Cuba had strengthened in the past six decades.

This is a valuable asset that must be treasured by parties, governments and people of both the countries, they said, adding there was a need to educate the younger generations about it.Praising Cuba on its socio-economic achievements, Ngân hoped the country would successfully carry out the Update of Economic Model.

She said the bilateral relations have been developed through various channels, including party, State and people-to-people diplomacy.

She added that the Việt Nam -Cuba Friendship Association was one of the organisations that had numerous practical activities to promote friendship between the two countries.

Ngân said she believed Llort would do his best to develop the relations between Cuba and other foreign countries, including Việt Nam. — VNS