615 billion VND to share difficulties with the Cuban people

On October 18, in Hanoi, the Organizing Committee of the Program "65 years of Vietnam - Cuba friendship" in coordination with the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations, Literature and Arts Times, and the Vietnam Musicians Association held a ceremony to summarize the Program to support the Cuban people; award prizes and perform the winning works of the songwriting campaign "Vietnam - Cuba forever echoes the song of solidarity and friendship".

Honoring and rewarding outstanding collectives and individuals of the "65 years of Vietnam - Cuba friendship" campaign to support the Cuban people. Photo: Thanh Tung/VNA

Attending the ceremony were Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Fatherland Front, Central organizations, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Do Van Chien; representatives of leaders of central and local departments, ministries, branches, organizations; Cuban Embassy in Vietnam; embassies, international organizations, etc.

Speaking at the ceremony, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Do Van Chien, on behalf of the leaders of the Party, State, and Vietnam Fatherland Front, thanked compatriots at home and abroad for joining hands to respond to the program with deep affection for Cuba. He praised the Vietnam Red Cross Society , organizations, artists, press agencies and the Cuban Embassy in Vietnam for their strong support in spreading the spirit of solidarity and humanity between the two nations. During the 65 days of launching, the program "65 years of Vietnam - Cuba friendship" has received deep attention and deep affection from many classes of people, from the elderly to children, from the mountains to the plains, all classes, social strata, ... to support the program.

The songwriting campaign “Vietnam - Cuba forever resonates the song of solidarity and friendship” co-organized by the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations , the Vietnam Musicians Association and the Literature and Arts Times has been responded by hundreds of professional and non-professional musicians and artists across the country, creating many emotional works praising the Vietnam - Cuba friendship. Many songs have high artistic value as an artistic declaration of the faithful friendship between the two nations. That shows that the program “65 years of Vietnam - Cuba friendship” has touched the hearts of all Vietnamese people; arousing spiritual strength, creative inspiration and pride in the special, rare friendship between Vietnam and Cuba...

The success of the “65 years of Vietnam - Cuba friendship” program has opened up many new and suitable ways of thinking and doing to effectively implement the three pillars: Party foreign affairs, state diplomacy, and people-to-people diplomacy between Vietnam and Cuba to foster and elevate to a new height the friendly, traditional, and brotherly relationship between Vietnam and Cuba, which is increasingly strong and beautiful, the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front emphasized.

On behalf of the leaders of the Party, State, Government and people of Cuba, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Cuba to Vietnam Rogelio Polanco Fuentes expressed his deepest gratitude for the special solidarity of the brotherly Vietnamese people. Vietnam has proudly demonstrated the humanism of the nation, the values ​​that make up the Vietnamese soul. Although time and distance are far, historical memories in the hearts of the Vietnamese people have not faded. Cuba is always present in the minds of the Vietnamese people as a sincere, close and loyal friend. President Fidel's sacred trust in Vietnam will live forever as long as it is remembered by the Vietnamese people.

Thousands of messages of encouragement have been sent from all walks of life, from all parts of the country and of all ages. Many unique initiatives have been implemented to raise donations. Touching images such as children saving small amounts of money, sending letters and pictures to Cuban children have deeply moved us, Ambassador Rogelio Polanco Fuentes shared with emotion.

Honoring and rewarding outstanding collectives and individuals of the "65 years of Vietnam - Cuba friendship" campaign to support the Cuban people. Photo: Thanh Tung/VNA

Dr. Nguyen Hai Anh, Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Red Cross Society, said that immediately after the national launching ceremony on August 13, 2025 in Hanoi, the Program quickly received the support of the majority of people. After more than 3 weeks of launching, the Program received a total value of over 400 billion VND. By the end of October 16, 2025, the total amount of donations reached 615 billion VND, 9.5 times higher than the initial target. The highlight of the program is the diversity and creativity in the forms of donations, from donation boxes, bank transfers, QR code scanning, to cultural and sports activities, online membership fees, etc. Thanks to that, the movement spread strongly, demonstrating the spirit of humanity and affection of the Vietnamese people and attracting special attention from domestic and international press.

In the field of culture and arts, the songwriting campaign received 140 works from 124 authors across the country. The family of the late musician Do Nhuan also found the song "Vietnam - Cuba" composed in 1964 to submit as a gift of gratitude. From the 22 songs selected for the final round, the Organizing Committee awarded 1 First Prize, 2 Second Prizes, 3 Third Prizes, and many other awards. At the same time, 65 excellent songs were selected to be published in the music collection "Vietnam - Cuba forever resonates the song of solidarity and friendship" and will be presented to the Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam as a symbol of friendship and affection between the two peoples.

Previously, on September 1, at the Party Central Committee Headquarters, under the witness of General Secretary To Lam, Mr. Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, President of Cuba and many high-ranking leaders of the two countries, Mr. Do Van Chien, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, on behalf of the Party, State and people of Vietnam, presented the first installment of nearly 385 billion VND to the Cuban people.

During his visit to Vietnam from September 30 to October 5, 2025, President of the Cuban National Assembly Esteban Lazo Hernandez, on behalf of the leaders of the Party, State and people of Cuba, once again expressed his deep gratitude for the noble gesture of the Party, State and people of Vietnam, demonstrating solidarity and extremely practical support for the Cuban people in the most difficult time. Part of the money will be used to repair about 5,000 damaged transformers nationwide; the remaining amount will be used to repair the electricity and water systems and the most urgent needs of the Cuban people.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/615-ty-dong-chia-se-kho-khan-cung-nhan-dan-cuba-20251018122558572.htm