Cuba and Vietnam signed four new cooperation agreements during a bilateral business meeting to strengthen and expand economic ties between the two nations.
Civil aviation, electric, power, oil, and the development, marketing, and production of construction materials are the sectors covered by these agreements, signed in the presence of the president of Vietnam’s National Assembly, Vuong Dinh Hue, who is on an official visit to the island.
“The long-standing cooperation experience between our countries has favored that Vietnamese companies have a greater presence in the Cuban economic and social development program,” said Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas, newly appointed head of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment.
As the new co-president of the bilateral Intergovernmental Commission, Cabrisas said that business deals “with the possibility of materializiconcisevery short term” in sectors the Cuban government prioritizes, such as the agri-food industry, renewable energies, tourism, and construction, among others, will be identified.
Cabrisas underscored the active participation of Vietnamese companies in the investment process in the Mariel Special Development Zone (essential important economic enclave located some 45 kilometers west of Havana.
“Vietnam is consolidating its position as the first foreign investor and second commercial partner of Asia in Cuba,” he asserted.
The session was attended by representatives of Vietnamese companies in sectors such as biotechnology, recycling, aviation, electronics, pharmaceuticals, electromotive, energy, agricultural machinery, iron, steel, and medical equipment, among others.
A few hours earlier, Vuong and the president of the Cuban Parliament, Esteban Lazo, inaugurated two new Vietnamese investment projects in the ZEDM, consisting of a domestic and industrial detergent factory and a solar energy park.