Vietnam - Cuba make biotechnology cooperation a spearhead field

(Chinhphu.vn) - On August 27, in Hanoi, the opening ceremony of the 42nd meeting of the Vietnam - Cuba Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation took place. Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tuong Van and Cuban Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Deborah Rivas Saavedra chaired the meeting.

The two sides agreed on the cooperation results and exchanged the draft contents of the Minutes of the 42nd Session. Photo: Ta Hai.

Also attending were Mr. Telce Abdel González Morrell, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Cuba and Mr. Rogelio Polanco Fuentes, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cuba to Vietnam.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, on behalf of the Vietnam Subcommittee of the Vietnam - Cuba Intergovernmental Committee (ICC), Deputy Minister Nguyen Tuong Van expressed his excitement that the 42nd Session took place in a meaningful context: The two countries jointly organized many practical activities to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam - Cuba diplomatic relations (December 2, 1960 - December 2, 2025). The traditional solidarity, special friendship, and comprehensive cooperation between the two peoples, which were carefully cultivated by President Ho Chi Minh and Leader Fidel Castro, have been constantly consolidated and developed.

Sharing experience in vaccine management and testing

Since the 41st Session, despite facing many difficulties and challenges from the international context and each country's own difficulties, the two sides have closely coordinated in implementing agreements and achieved many positive results. In particular, trade and investment cooperation continues to be an important pillar. In 2024, bilateral trade turnover reached 199.3 million USD, an increase of 28.1% compared to 2023. Investment projects of Vietnamese enterprises in Cuba continue to receive attention and promotion with a number of preferential policies of the Cuban Government .

In agricultural cooperation, Vietnam's projects supporting Cuba in developing rice, corn and aquaculture production have been implemented according to goals and plans, bringing about encouraging results. The new cooperation model on rice production in Pinar del Rio province implemented by AGRI VMA Company has achieved productivity double that of Cuba's average productivity, making a practical contribution to your efforts to ensure food security.

In medical and biotechnology cooperation, the two sides maintained exchanges, created favorable conditions for pharmaceutical registration, and shared experiences in vaccine management and testing. The Vietnamese partner and BioCubaFarma Group signed an agreement to establish a joint venture on pharmaceutical and biotechnology production in Vietnam. The Vietnam Green Economy Institute signed a cooperation agreement with Cuban partners, Labiofarm Company and the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), to cooperate in research, development, and production of agricultural biotechnology and natural medicine products. This is a testament to deep political trust and determination to make biotechnology cooperation a key field, bringing long-term benefits to both countries.

In energy cooperation, the two sides discussed the implementation of a solar power complex project in Cuba. Viettel Group has conducted a field survey in Cuba and is developing a detailed project to implement the solar power project by the end of 2025.

Cooperation in other fields such as construction, transportation, science and technology, information and communication, finance - banking, education - training, culture - sports - tourism, justice, etc. has been actively promoted by both sides and achieved many substantive results, contributing to enriching and diversifying the content of bilateral cooperation.

Deputy Minister of Construction of Vietnam Nguyen Tuong Van emphasized the cooperation results achieved in recent times. Photo: Ta Hai

Proposing Cuba to create an open and favorable investment environment for Vietnamese enterprises

Deputy Minister Nguyen Tuong Van suggested that the 42nd Session would be a meeting of determination and action. The two sides focused on frank and substantive exchanges to jointly resolve difficulties and agree on new directions and contents of cooperation for the 2025-2026 period.

In particular, cooperation will prioritize the main pillars: Recommend the Governments of the two countries, especially the Cuban Government, to pay attention to directing the establishment of mechanisms to resolve difficulties and problems, creating an open and favorable investment environment for Vietnamese enterprises; Strongly promote comprehensive agricultural cooperation, based on the results obtained from technical assistance projects that Vietnam has helped Cuba. Create breakthroughs in cooperation in health and biotechnology.

"I firmly believe that with great efforts and determination, a spirit of close cooperation and innovation, the 42nd Session of the Vietnam - Cuba Joint Committee for Cooperation will be a great success, creating a new momentum, contributing to bringing the comprehensive cooperation between the two countries to increasingly deeper, more effective and more substantial," Deputy Minister Nguyen Tuong Van expressed.

On the Cuban side, Ms. Déborah Rivas Saavedra, Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment of Cuba, expressed her honor to return to Vietnam to discuss the draft Minutes of the 42nd Session on the occasion of the First Secretary and President of Cuba attending the Ceremony to Celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the August Revolution and the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Cuba. This is also one of the activities to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Cuba.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment of Cuba Deborah Rivas Saavedra affirmed that Cuba is ready to provide preferential mechanisms to facilitate Vietnamese enterprises to cooperate and invest in Cuba. Photo: Ta Hai.

Deputy Minister Deborah Rivas Saavedra also expressed her gratitude for Vietnam's program to support the Cuban people with the theme "65 years of Vietnam - Cuba friendship" which was launched on August 13 - the 99th anniversary of the birth of Cuban leader Fidel Castro and achieved great results in a short time.

"We are very moved to witness the close brotherly affection between Vietnam and Cuba being passed down from generation to generation. Cuba will never forget this noble gesture as well as the solidarity and love of the Vietnamese people for the Cuban people," Deputy Minister Déborah Rivas Saavedra said emotionally.

The Deputy Minister expressed his gratitude for the support and assistance of the Party, Government and people of Vietnam in the past time, especially the rice support project with a total volume of 11,500 tons and the solar power project that Viettel Group will implement in the coming time. These are important projects, directly affecting the interests of the Cuban people.

Removing obstacles affecting economic and trade cooperation

Regarding bilateral cooperation, Deputy Minister Déborah Rivas Saavedra affirmed the facilitation mechanism that the Cuban Government provides for Vietnamese enterprises, especially solutions to remove obstacles affecting economic and trade cooperation.

The Deputy Minister agreed with the Vietnamese side on the results achieved in bilateral cooperation in various fields in recent times and said that, along with traditional cooperation fields, other fields such as veterinary medicine, renewable energy, oil and gas, industry, transportation, tourism, etc. have great potential for cooperation development.

The Deputy Minister also said that since 2025, Vietnam and Cuba have become BRICS Partner Countries, this cooperation mechanism creates great advantages for both sides to research and develop joint projects for the practical benefits of both countries and of the Southern Hemisphere. Vietnam and Cuba will study these new opportunities and find cooperation solutions.

"Cuba is open and ready to consider what the Cuban side can do to effectively and sustainably implement new investment projects of Vietnamese enterprises in Cuba, bringing practical benefits to both sides. We believe that our two countries will continue to trust each other and continue to set development goals for cooperation in priority areas. The two sides will find practical and breakthrough solutions to fulfill their obligations, contributing to further promoting economic and trade relations between the two countries," Deputy Minister Déborah Rivas Saavedra emphasized.

It is expected that on September 1, the Minister of Construction of Vietnam and the Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment of Cuba will represent the two sides to sign the Minutes of the 42nd Session.

Within the framework of the 42nd Session, important cooperation agreements and documents will also be signed, such as: Agreement between the two Governments on promoting rice production, gradually ensuring food security in Cuba in the period of 2025-2027; Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of document storage and management; Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of a biotechnology joint venture between Hoa Sen Investment Group Company Limited of Vietnam and Labiofarm Group of Cuba.

The 42nd meeting of the Vietnam - Cuba Intergovernmental Committee took place in Hanoi from August 27 to September 2, 2025.

The meeting will focus on comprehensively assessing the results of cooperation in many fields as agreed in the Minutes of the 41st Meeting and agreeing on the content of cooperation for the 2025-2026 period, promoting key cooperation programs, projects and activities, contributing to strengthening the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Cuba.

At this meeting, the two sides will agree on specific directions and solutions to further promote economic, trade and investment relations, especially in priority areas such as:

Agriculture and food security: Cooperation in developing sustainable rice production, technology transfer, and replicating results from new cooperation models to ensure food security for Cuba.

Biotechnology and medicine: Promote cooperation in the fields of biotechnology and medicine, promote the implementation of joint venture projects in the fields of biotechnology serving the field of people's health care and biotechnology serving the agricultural sector.

Energy: Implementing solar power projects, contributing to helping Cuba solve the current electricity shortage.

The 42nd session reaffirms the commitment of both Governments to create favorable conditions for the business communities of the two countries to cooperate, invest and do business. Important cooperation documents will be signed, creating a solid legal basis for cooperation activities in the coming period.

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/viet-nam-cuba-dua-hop-tac-cong-nghe-bi-hoc-tro-thanh-linh-vuc-mui-nhon-102250827184334348.htm