Prime Minister: For Cuba, Vietnamese businesses should be ready to donate time and intelligence

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested that Vietnamese enterprises put themselves in Cuba's current position and share as Cuba has shared with Vietnam.

During the State visit to Vietnam of First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, on the afternoon of September 2, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and First Secretary and President of Cuba met with Vietnamese businesses to discuss and promote trade and investment cooperation.

Also attending were Ministers, leaders of ministries, branches and central agencies of Vietnam and Cuba.

On the basis of the tradition of the extremely good Vietnam-Cuba relationship, economic and trade cooperation between the two countries is constantly developing.

Vietnam is currently Cuba's second largest trading partner and largest investor from the Asia- Pacific region.

Bilateral trade turnover in 2023 will reach 57.33 million USD; in the first 8 months of 2024, it will reach 134.7 million USD; and is striving to reach 500 million USD in the next 5 years.

Vietnam is the largest Asian investor in Cuba, with at least 7 projects in operation, with a total committed capital of over 160 million USD. Companies such as Thai Binh, Viglacera and Agri VMA have invested in areas such as: construction materials, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, solar energy, etc.

In particular, in agriculture, Vietnam’s cooperation projects to support Cuba in developing rice, corn, soybean and aquaculture production have achieved positive results. However, these results are not commensurate with Cuba’s potential and the capacity of Vietnamese enterprises.

First Secretary and President of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez speaks at a meeting with businesses from the two countries. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

At the meeting, Vietnamese businesses listened to the Cuban side share about Cuba's policies, guidelines, and priority orientations; at the same time, exchanged, recommended, and proposed to the Cuban side about difficulties and obstacles in implementing investment projects here.

The two sides discussed and proposed effective and breakthrough solutions to realize the potential of cooperation into specific economic projects, bringing practical benefits to the people of the two countries.

Speaking at the meeting, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez highly appreciated the capacity of Vietnamese enterprises; said that during this working trip to Vietnam, he had many activities, also to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Cuba (December 2, 1960 - December 2, 2025).

During the talks and meetings between him and leaders of the Vietnamese Party and State, the two sides agreed on many important issues, especially emphasizing the need to increase the presence of Vietnamese businesses in Cuba.

Expressing gratitude and appreciation to Vietnamese ministries, sectors and enterprises for their cooperation and support to Cuba in agricultural and energy projects, which have made an important contribution to ensuring Cuba's energy and food security, the First Secretary and President of Cuba hopes that Vietnam will promote and expand cooperation and investment with Cuba, especially in the fields of agriculture, livestock, aquaculture; biotechnology, pharmaceuticals; consumer goods production; distribution and retail of goods; tourism; real estate; oil and gas exploration and exploitation... to serve the needs of the people of the two countries and export; at the same time, transfer technology, cooperate in research, and commercialize products for Cuba; contributing to Cuba's socio-economic development.

Comrade Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said Cuba is committed to creating favorable conditions and offering more incentives; at the same time, it is ready to listen and remove difficulties and obstacles for Vietnamese enterprises to do business smoothly in Cuba.

Speaking here, expressing his emotion at the sentiments, enthusiasm and responsibility of the First Secretary of the Communist Party and President of Cuba towards the fate of the country and the lives of the Cuban people, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested that Vietnamese enterprises put themselves in Cuba's current position to share with Cuba as Cuba has shared with Vietnam.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at a meeting with Vietnamese and Cuban businesses. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

Recalling the statement of leader Fidel Castro "For Vietnam, Cuba is willing to sacrifice its blood", the Prime Minister hopes that Vietnamese enterprises "For Cuba, are willing to sacrifice their time, effort and intelligence", demonstrating the steadfast and loyal tradition of the Vietnamese people.

The Prime Minister said that at the talks, General Secretary To Lam and First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez agreed to promote and deepen economic-trade and investment cooperation, especially in strategic cooperation areas: agriculture, solar energy and biotechnology - pharmaceuticals.

Emphasizing the importance of intelligence, time and determination, the Prime Minister called on businesses of the two countries to cooperate with all their hearts and minds to achieve practical results.

In particular, the Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and Vietnamese enterprises to continue researching, expanding the area, and improving rice production productivity in Cuba; at the same time, researching and organizing models for developing fruit trees, livestock, aquaculture, etc. in Cuba, to provide enough food for the Cuban people right in Cuba.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also suggested that Cuban businesses increase cooperation and investment in Vietnam, especially in areas where Cuba has strengths and Vietnam has demand, such as biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hopes that businesses from both sides will take the lead in proposing mechanisms and policies, removing difficulties and obstacles so that cooperation and investment projects between the two countries will be more numerous and more effective; propose cooperation projects and programs, including research into opening direct flights, tourism cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges; support and share experiences with each other, in the spirit of "harmonious benefits, shared risks," "what is said is done, what is committed must be implemented effectively and practically."

Thanking Vietnamese compatriots, comrades and businesses for donating and supporting Cuba in difficult times, the Prime Minister emphasized that Vietnam must support Cuba in a more fundamental and systematic way, fully exploiting the different potentials, outstanding opportunities and competitive advantages of each country, and complementing each other so that the two countries and two peoples can develop together.

Source: VNP

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/thu-tuong-vi-cuba-doanh-nghiep-viet-hay-san-sang-hien-thoi-gian-tri-tue-20250902200707929.htm