Cuba's Minister of Agriculture Ydael Jesus Perez Brito at the meeting with Vietnam's Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi on December 9 (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam's Minister of Construction Nguyen Thanh Nghi and Cuba's Minister of Agriculture Ydael Jesus Perez Brito discussed strengthening collaboration in rice production at a meeting in Hanoi on December 9.

Nghi emphasised that as the agency in charge of the Vietnamese subcommittee of the Vietnam - Cuba Intergovernmental Committee, the Ministry of Construction (MoC) has made consistent efforts to facilitate economic, trade, and investment cooperation between the two nations, with agriculture being a key priority.

Vietnam is currently supporting Cuba with three projects, namely a project on rice production development for the 2019 - 2025 period, and the other two on aquaculture and maize production for 2023 - 2025 period.

The Vietnamese Government has tasked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) with developing a proposal for a new Vietnam - Cuba rice production cooperation project for the 2025 - 2027 period. This initiative aims to establish an effective agricultural cooperation model to help strengthen Cuba's food security, he said.

The MoC has expedited procedures to supply rice for Cuba as agreed upon by leaders of both countries. Additionally, it is actively encouraging Vietnamese enterprises, such as Agri-VMA Co. Ltd. to invest in agricultural production in Cuba. It is also supporting the Thai Binh company in preparing a feasibility study for a project on rice, soybean production, soybean oil processing, and livestock farming in the Caribbean nation.

The minister asked the Cuban Ministry of Agriculture to collaborate closely with Cuban agencies and the MARD to address obstacles faced by Vietnamese businesses investing in agriculture in Cuba. He also highlighted the need for joint efforts to implement the countries' high-level agreements and tackle specific issues such as land use, labour policy, material importation, taxation, and foreign exchange.

For his part, Minister Perez Brito shared that Cuba had established a working group led by Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas Ruiz to oversee the implementation of bilateral agreements.

To meet the annual domestic demand of 600,000 tonnes of rice, Cuba proposed increasing its rice cultivation area from 20,000ha to 100,000ha, he said, noting that it now has 200,000ha available for rice farming, and all conditions from human, seedlings, infrastructure to irrigation systems, machinery, and transport are also ready.

The Cuban minister expressed confidence in the success of the cooperation projects, anticipating that they will attract more Vietnamese businesses to invest in Cuba.

He highlighted the strong measures Cuba has implemented to support Vietnamese investors, including granting the land use right free of charge and permitting Vietnamese enterprises to directly recruit Cuban workers—marking the first time such initiatives were offered to foreign investors in Cuba.

Cuba's Ministry of Agriculture expressed the hope that the MoC will advocate some policies supporting Vietnamese enterprises investing in Cuba.

Nghi acknowledged the positive progress achieved so far and called for continued efforts to overcome remaining challenges, ensuring the successful implementation of Vietnamese firms' rice production projects in Cuba.

Regarding Cuba's proposal to expand the rice cultivation area, Nghị emphasised the importance of successfully completing the initial phase to encourage other companies to engage in production expansion. He also recommended that Cuba consider adopting multi-crop farming techniques, drawing on Vietnam's expertise, to boost rice yields.

He pledged that the MoC will continue working with relevant agencies to propose favourable policies and create conditions for the success of the rice production cooperation./.