Promoting effective and substantive cooperation between Vietnam and Cuba

Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi had talks with Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Co-Chairman of the Vietnam - Cuba Intergovernmental Committee (UBLCP) Oscar Pérez Oliva Fraga and Cuban Minister of Construction René Antonio Mesa Villafaña.

The activity took place within the framework of Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi's activities when he joined the high-ranking delegation of the Party and State with General Secretary, President To Lam and his wife on a State visit to Cuba from September 25 to 27.

At the meeting, the two sides were very pleased to meet again. Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi congratulated Minister Oscar Perez Oliva Fraga on being appointed by the Cuban Party and State as Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment of Cuba.

Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi emphasized that in April 2024, the Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, concurrently Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment of Cuba Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz co-chaired the successful organization of the 41st Session of the Vietnam - Cuba Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation. The two sides discussed and proposed solutions to improve efficiency and develop cooperation in the fields of economics , trade, investment, science and technology in a more substantial and sustainable manner.

In particular, at the talks between General Secretary and President To Lam and First Secretary and President Miguel Diaz Canel, the two sides agreed to promote the role of the two parties' relationship in consolidating the foundation of political relations, further tightening political trust and cooperation orientation between the two countries. The two sides agreed to identify agriculture as a strategic cooperation field; economics, trade and investment as priority cooperation fields; biotechnology and healthcare as potential cooperation fields...

Together to solve difficulties for businesses

According to Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi, based on the Minutes of the 41st Meeting of the Vietnam - Cuba Joint Committee for Cooperation, the two sides have made efforts to implement cooperation agreements and achieved some positive results. Regarding investment cooperation, 6 projects invested by 3 Vietnamese enterprises, namely Viglacera Corporation, Thai Binh Company and Agri Vma Company in Cuba with a registered capital of 84.5 million USD, focus on the fields of production and trading of construction materials, diapers, detergents, animal feed production, solar power development, and industrial park infrastructure development.

The projects have contributed to supplying goods to the Cuban market, partially replacing imported goods, and creating more jobs for Cuban workers. Recently, the Vietnamese ATG Company was granted an Investment Registration Certificate for a Fertilizer Factory in the ViMariel Industrial Park in the Mariel Economic Development Zone by the Cuban Government.

Regarding agricultural cooperation, 3 projects that Vietnam supports Cuba in rice development, corn development and aquaculture are being jointly implemented by the parties according to plan. Regarding biotechnology and medical cooperation: Trade cooperation, research and development of vaccines, biological products and pharmaceuticals, and medical services in Vietnam are being implemented by the parties according to signed contracts and agreements.

Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi held talks with Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Co-Chairman of the Vietnam - Cuba Intergovernmental Committee (UBLCP) Oscar Pérez Oliva Fraga. (Source: Ministry of Construction)

Regarding construction cooperation, the Ministry of Construction and the Cuban Ministry of Construction exchanged experiences in managing the construction industry of the two countries, and discussed solutions to promote cooperation in the construction sector and cooperation between construction enterprises of the two countries in the coming time...

According to Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi, in addition to the above-mentioned achievements, the two sides need to frankly acknowledge some difficulties and shortcomings that affect the effectiveness of economic, trade and investment cooperation. Vietnamese enterprises investing in Cuba are currently facing common difficulties such as unstable supply of electricity, raw materials and supplies, the problem of two exchange rates; difficulties in transferring foreign currency liquidity abroad to import supplies and raw materials for production, etc.

Along with sharing the current difficulties of Cuba, Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi also affirmed: Implementing the direction of the two countries' senior leaders on agreeing to move to a new phase of cooperation with new cooperation methods to improve the practicality and effectiveness of economic, trade and investment cooperation, the two sides need to propose a number of new cooperation contents and methods, focusing on promptly removing difficulties for Vietnamese enterprises investing in Cuba.

Minister Nguyen Thanh suggested that Cuba continue to consider and promptly have timely solutions to remove difficulties and obstacles for Vietnamese enterprises investing in Cuba, especially having management policies to ensure stable supply of electricity, fuel, and materials to ensure continuous and stable production activities, fully exploiting the design capacity and production capacity of factories, ensuring economic efficiency; having policies to allow Vietnamese enterprises to directly recruit and pay salaries and bonuses to workers according to work efficiency; allowing Vietnamese enterprises to export a part of their products to have more foreign currency revenue to import raw materials and materials for production; innovating the monetary and exchange rate policy management mechanism to suit the new context and situation to remove difficulties in foreign currency scarcity to import raw materials and materials for production...

In particular, the SanVig joint venture project in Cuba is still facing many difficulties in production because the Cuban bank has not arranged foreign currency to import raw materials for production. Although attention has been paid to the supply of gas and electricity, it is still unstable, affecting the productivity of the floor tile factory and the sanitary ware factory.

Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi asked Cuban Minister of Construction René Antonio Mesa Villafaña to direct relevant Cuban agencies to prioritize removing difficulties of the SanVig joint venture, creating favorable conditions for businesses to feel secure in production, and when ensuring the operation of 90% of the factory's design capacity, they can expand their investment in Cuba.

Regarding the operation of Dinvai Company in Vietnam, HUD Corporation and Coninco Vietnam Company have created conditions for Dinvai Vietnam Company to participate in providing construction supervision consulting services for a number of projects in Vietnam. However, the current workload is small, not as expected by Dinvai Company. The Ministry of Construction of Vietnam will direct HUD, Coninco, and Viglacera enterprises to pay attention to creating more favorable conditions for Dinvai in the coming time.

Enhance and diversify bilateral trade turnover

Proposing some new contents and methods of cooperation, Minister Nguyen Thanh Nghi emphasized that the two sides continue to innovate the operating mechanism of the UBLCP in a practical and effective direction. They agreed to identify agriculture as a strategic cooperation field, trade and investment as priority cooperation fields, and biotechnology and healthcare as potential cooperation fields.

Encourage businesses of both sides to expand cooperation in strategic, priority and potential areas; The two sides make the most of the incentives of the Vietnam - Cuba Trade Agreement, which took effect from April 2020, to increase bilateral trade turnover in the coming time. Discuss the possibility of trade cooperation in the form of barter...

The two sides continue to coordinate to review and evaluate the effectiveness of agricultural cooperation projects, research and propose new cooperation models for Vietnamese enterprises to participate in investing in agricultural development in Cuba, helping Cuba increase the output of local food production, gradually proactively ensure food security, and future exports to the Caribbean and Latin America.

The two sides continued to exchange experiences, facilitate the registration and re-registration of Cuban drugs and vaccines in Vietnam, and continue to discuss new directions and flexibly transfer medical technology and Cuban medical service costs in Vietnam in the direction of long-term cooperation, aiming at regional market scale.

The two sides promote cooperation in the fields of health, medical technology transfer, and Cuban vaccine production in Vietnam... The two sides increase experience sharing in attracting foreign investment, developing agriculture, information and communications, construction, developing industrial parks, high-tech parks, and other fields...

Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi took a souvenir photo with two Cuban Ministers. (Source: Ministry of Construction)

At the talks, Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Co-Chairman of the Vietnam-Cuba Joint Committee Oscar Pérez Oliva Fraga affirmed that the leaders of Vietnam and Cuba issued a Joint Statement on strengthening traditional solidarity, special friendship, and comprehensive cooperation in the new period.

General Secretary and President To Lam and First Secretary and President of Cuba Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez reaffirmed that the special friendship, cooperation and traditional solidarity between Vietnam and Cuba is a symbol of the times and a priceless asset; continuing to inherit and promote the legacy of President Ho Chi Minh and the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro. The two sides are determined to bring the special relationship between the two countries to a new level, developing more comprehensively, substantially, effectively and sustainably.

The two sides continue to cooperate closely in defense, security, and foreign affairs, and pledge to promote and deepen bilateral economic, trade, and investment cooperation. Relevant agencies of the two countries increase exchanges and coordination to remove difficulties and obstacles. The parties take advantage of and maximize the Vietnam-Cuba Trade Agreement to increase turnover and diversify bilateral trade.

Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Co-Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Oscar Pérez Oliva Fraga, emphasized that Cuba supports and encourages the presence and participation of Vietnamese businesses and projects in Cuba's socio-economic development process and will prioritize creating favorable conditions.

The two sides reviewed and evaluated the effectiveness of agricultural cooperation projects in recent times, strengthened research coordination and proposed implementing new models of agricultural production cooperation to support Cuba in increasing output and local production capacity.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/thuc-day-quan-he-hop-tac-hieu-qua-va-thuc-chat-viet-nam-cuba-288247.html