President of the Council of State and Council of Ministers of Cuba Miguel Mario Diaz Canel Bermudez and his spouse will pay an official visit to Việt Nam from November 8-10.– Photo AFP

HÀ NỘI – President of the Council of State and Council of Ministers of Cuba Miguel Mario Diaz Canel Bermudez and his spouse will pay an official visit to Việt Nam from November 8-10.
The visit would be made at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam’s Central Committee and President Nguyễn Phú Trọng and Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The Việt Nam-Cuba relationship, which was fostered by Presidents Hồ Chí Minh and Fidel Castro, had developed across many spheres, becoming a valuable asset and a source of great encouragement for the revolutionary cause of each country. 
Since the two countries set up diplomatic ties in December 1960, their solidarity, mutual support and comprehensive co-operation had been strengthened.
Their bilateral political ties had been reflected through the regular exchange of visits between the two countries’ Party, State and Government leaders. As well as intensifying delegation exchanges between agencies of the Parties, ministries and businesses, the two countries had regularly and effectively implemented co-operation mechanisms.
At the same time, the two countries had co-operated and supported each other at international organisations and multilateral forums, particularly the United Nations.
Việt Nam backed Cuba’s request for the removal of the US embargo against the country and commited to supporting the country’s bid for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council for 2021-2023.
Along with political ties,  Việt Nam and Cuba had also focused on economic and trade bonds through a wide range of programmes and projects. In 2016, two-way trade reached US$235 million. The two sides are striving to raise bilateral trade to $500 million by 2020.
In March this year, Party Chief Nguyễn Phú Trọng paid a state visit to the Caribbean country to consolidate mutual political trust and step up bilateral co-operation in economics, trade and investment in a more pragmatic and effective manner. — VNS