Vietnam-Cuba: Advancing cooperation to a more effective and substantive level

(Construction) – As part of the high-ranking delegation from the Party and State, led by General Secretary and President To Lam, Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi participated in a State visit to Cuba from September 25 to 27. During this visit, he held discussions with Oscar Pérez Oliva Fraga, the Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment and Co-Chairman of the Vietnam-Cuba Intergovernmental Committee (ICC), as well as with René Antonio Mesa Villafaña, the Cuban Minister of Construction.

Vietnamese Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi took a commemorative photo with the two Cuban Ministers.

In the meeting, Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi emphasized that in April 2024, he and Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz, who also serves as the Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment of Cuba, successfully co-chaired the 41st Session of the Vietnam-Cuba ICC. The two sides engaged in discussions to propose solutions aimed at enhancing efficiency and developing cooperation across various fields, including economics, trade, investment, science, and technology, in a more substantial and sustainable manner.

Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi stated that, based on the Minutes of the 41st Meeting of the Vietnam-Cuba Joint Committee for Cooperation, both sides have made concerted efforts to implement cooperation agreements and have achieved several positive results. These projects have contributed to supplying goods to the Cuban market, partially replacing imports, and creating additional jobs for Cuban workers. Recently, the Cuban Government granted an Investment Registration Certificate to the Vietnamese ATG Company for a Fertilizer Factory in the ViMariel Industrial Park within the Mariel Special Economic Development Zone.

According to Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi, while the aforementioned achievements are commendable, both sides should candidly acknowledge certain challenges and shortcomings that hinder the effectiveness of economic, trade, and investment cooperation. He urged Cuban Minister of Construction René Antonio Mesa Villafaña to instruct relevant Cuban agencies to prioritize addressing the difficulties faced by the SanVig joint venture, thereby creating favorable conditions for businesses to feel secure in their production. He emphasized that once the joint venture ensures the operation of 90% of the factory’s design capacity, they will be able to expand their investments in Cuba.

At the meeting, Oscar Pérez Oliva Fraga, the Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment and Co-Chairman of the Vietnam Commission for Agricultural and Rural Development, affirmed that the leaders of Vietnam and Cuba have issued a Joint Statement aimed at strengthening traditional solidarity, special friendship, and comprehensive cooperation for the new era. He emphasized that Cuba supports and encourages the presence and participation of Vietnamese enterprises and projects in the socio-economic development of Cuba and will prioritize creating favorable conditions for this collaboration.

In the end of the meeting, the two sides reviewed and assessed the effectiveness of recent agricultural cooperation projects, reinforced their research coordination, and proposed the implementation of new agricultural production cooperation models to assist Cuba in increasing its output and enhancing local production capacity.