Vietnam, Cuba convene Inter-Governmental Committee's 40th meeting online: At the meeting. (Photo: nhandan.vn)

Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz, who is also Co-Chair of the Committee, said despite the difficulties caused by the embargo and COVID-19, Cuba and Vietnam have facilitated cooperation in healthcare, agriculture, trade, investment, construction, information-communications, education-training, science and technology.

Next year, Cuba has set targets of stabilising the macro-economy, restoring power generation capacity, promoting the exploitation of renewable energy and food production, reviving tourism, and increasing the supply of public goods and services, he said.

Vietnamese Minister of Construction and Co-Chair of the Committee Nguyen Thanh Nghi said ties between the two countries have been sustained via increasing political dialogues and high-level meetings.

The two sides agreed on the positive outcomes in implementing commitments made at the 39th session. Specifically, two-way trade in the 11 months of this year reached 136.4 million USD. A number of conferences and seminars were held both online and in-person to discuss contents of the Vietnam-Cuba Trade Agreement.

Vietnam has maintained stable rice export to Cuba, helping Cuba ensure food security and social stability. Vietnamese companies have run effective investment projects in Cuba, including the ViMariel industrial park, a joint venture making tile and sanitary wares, among others. The bilateral project in rice farming for 2019-2023 is going as schedule.

Minister Nghi took the occasion to ask the Cuban Government to tackle obstacles in joint projects to bring practical benefits to both sides.

On the occasion of the 40th meeting of the Vietnam-Cuba Inter-Governmental Committee, Vietnamese companies investing in Cuba presented 500 tonnes of rice to the Cuban people. The rice is scheduled to be delivered in January 2023.

Next year, the two sides will step up cooperation in priority areas of trade, investment, agriculture, fisheries, health, construction, information-communications and other fields such as finance, customs, banking, education and training, culture, sports, tourism, labour-invalids and social affairs, broadcasting, justice, archives, science and technology.

The Vietnamese side expressed its readiness to share its experience with Cuba in foreign investment attraction, development of economic and hi-tech parks, construction and financial-monetary management, sci-tech and innovation.