The Ho Chi Minh City Union of Friendship Organizations (HUFO) held a meeting on November 28 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the nation and Cuba, which started in 1960, along with 30 years of the Vietnam - Cuba Friendship Association operating in the southern metropolis.

Vuong Duc Hoang Quan, Chairman of the HCM City Union of Friendship Organizations
awards the Traditional Flag of the HCM City People's Committee to the municipal
Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association. (Photo: VNA)

Upon addressing the celebration, Truong Thi Hien, president of the Vietnam - Cuba Friendship Association in Ho Chi Minh City, emphasised that, despite being located geographically far apart, citizens of both countries share plenty of similarities through different stages of historical development. Indeed, they have many of the same ideals, aspirations to strive for peace, national independence, prosperity, and happiness for local people.

Despite undergoing historical fluctuations, the friendship between the two nations has been consistently fostered and developed over time and has become a valuable asset for both sides, she added.

According to Hien, the past three decades has seen the HUFO and the Vietnam - Cuba Friendship Association maintain active operations in line with the Party and Government’s foreign policy to both strengthen and expand positive relations between Ho Chi Minh City and the people of Cuba.

Furthermore, they also launched a range of cross-cultural exchange schemes in a hope of making strong contributions in an effort to reinforce close-knit relations.

In her speech at the event, Indira Lopez Arguelles, Consul General of the Republic of Cuba in Ho Chi Minh City, said that 60 years have passed since both nations first established official relations, with that relationship going on to create links between the leaders and people of the two countries. In addition, bilateral co-operation has been increasingly enhanced across a variety of fields, such as construction, education, health, agriculture, disease control, and epidemiology.

The Cuban official went on to express her nation’s profound gratitude to the assistance and solidarity provided by the Vietnamese side, as well as the nation’s great values that come from its longstanding heritage of independence, self-reliance, and development.

Cuba therefore desires to learn from the Vietnamese experience of national development and pledges to remain ready to progress with continuous co-operation and support the country in the fields of educational development, culture, health care, and biotechnology.

As part of the occasion, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee presented Certificates of Merit to a number of individuals from the Vietnam - Cuba Friendship Association in recognition of their outstanding achievements in citizen diplomacy and the enhancement of solidarity between the two peoples.

Most notably, the HUFO also organised an awards ceremony for a painting contest involving children in celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.