Vietnamese and Cuban officials and scientists at the launch event in Hà Nội on Thursday. — Photo baochinhphu.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Green Economics Institute and the Việt Nam–Cuba Intergovernmental Committee held a bilateral working session and launched the Việt Nam–Cuba biotechnology network in Hà Nội on Thursday.

Speaking at the launch, Dương Thị Bích Diệp, vice president of the institute, said the network was established to connect research institutes, universities, hospitals, and enterprises of the two countries, focusing on research, training, technology transfer, production, and commercialisation of biological products.

She noted that this is an important step to bring scientific and technological achievements directly into service of sustainable agriculture, health care, and people’s well-being.

She affirmed that the institute expects the network to become a core linkage hub, fostering long-term strategic cooperation projects in biotechnology, thereby making practical contributions to the socio-economic development of both nations.

Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Déborah Rivas Saavedra stated that bilateral relations have been continuously strengthened and developed, creating a solid foundation for expanding collaboration in many areas, particularly in economy, trade, investment, and science-technology.

The head of the Cuban delegation to the Intergovernmental Committee said that the network initiative is in line with strategic cooperation orientations, helping to effectively tap the potential of biotechnology for agriculture, medicine, and public health care, and to reaffirm the shared determination to promote Việt Nam–Cuba cooperation in the coming period.

Earlier, at the Việt Nam–Cuba biomedical cooperation conference held in Việt Nam on June 28, the institute signed a framework cooperation agreement with Cuba’s LabioFAM Group and the Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB).

The pact aims at joint research, development, and production of biological products in agriculture and natural medicine, laying a foundation for the implementation of long-term strategic cooperation projects in biotechnology between the two countries. — VNA/VNS