Cuba and Vietnam: Together in the most difficult times

Images via Revolution Studios

By Alina Perera Robbio, translated from the Spanish

"It is a source of great satisfaction for us to welcome you here in our country," said President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, on Monday (April 14) to Le Tan Can, Deputy Minister of Finance of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, who is visiting the country for the first time.

From the Palace of the Revolution, where the courtesy meeting took place, the Head of State took advantage of the cordial exchange to send "warm greetings" to the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Comrade To Lam; and also to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, "to whom we extend our invitation to visit the country when his schedule permits."

The President told his guest, and the other members of the high-level delegation arriving in Cuba, that 2025 "is a year of enormous political significance for Vietnam, for the Vietnamese people, for its government, and for its Party." He then emphasized that "these celebrations and motivations are also a cause for celebration and honor in our country."

This is because, the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba noted "in February, we commemorated the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam; at the end of April, we will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the victory in Saigon, which was decisive in the reunification process between North and South Vietnam; and in early September, we will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the proclamation of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam."

2025 is also the year - as the President emphasized - that marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between Cuba and Vietnam; in addition to marking the 42nd session of the Intergovernmental Commission for Economic, Scientific, and Technical Cooperation between the two countries.

"We will take all these commemorations into account as a very significant moment in our relations," stated Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who also wanted to emphasize that "the visit of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, comrade To Lam, (in September 2024) marked a milestone in relations between Cuba and Vietnam."

That moment, the Cuban President emphasized, "confirmed the strengthening of our historic relations," which were founded, he recalled, by Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz and comrade Ho Chi Minh, and have continued through the sustained relations between all Vietnamese leaders and Army General Raúl Castro Ruz.

"These have been very strong relations, of friendship, comradeship, cooperation, and solidarity," he stated. He also told comrade Le Tan Can: "We have been together through the most difficult times for Vietnam, and the most difficult times for Cuba. And I believe that, as an achievement of the ideological work of both the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Communist Party of Cuba, we see with satisfaction that the new generations have also been imbued with these bonds of friendship and comradeship between our peoples."

Díaz-Canel Bermúdez emphasized that, "after Comrade To Lam's visit, an intense dynamic of joint work has developed, with Vietnamese companies directly participating in our country's economic and social development program."

Along the same lines, the Head of State referred to the rice planting project located in the municipality of Los Palacios in the province of Pinar del Río. He stated that "it has yielded very good results," which now allow us to "evaluate the importance of expanding it with other Vietnamese companies to a larger number of areas."

The president mentioned that "work has also been done on corn cultivation using a high-yield Vietnamese hybrid"; that on the island "Vietnamese advice is available in aquaculture"; and that they are "on the verge of finalizing a joint venture between both nations in the areas of biotechnology and the pharmaceutical industry."

At another point, the President declared: "We want to thank the Communist Party of Vietnam, Comrade To Lam, and the Vietnamese government for the $200 million loan they offered us for rice; the donation of a photovoltaic park; and the rice donations they have been making to us in recent years; and we want, of course, to express our gratitude for all the support we have received from Vietnam in defending Cuba's struggle against the U.S. government blockade."

The Cuban President emphasized: “We have always counted on Vietnam’s vote. Vietnam’s representatives in the United Nations General Assembly have been categorical in their support for condemning the blockade, and also in their support for removing Cuba from the list of countries that supposedly support terrorism.”

The Head of State emphasized that "all this support we are receiving from Vietnam is coming during difficult times in our country, with the tightening of the blockade; and these gestures from you and us demonstrate the historic comradeship that exists between our peoples, our governments, and our Parties."

The above, he said, "are sufficient reasons and motivations to be very satisfied and happy" with the visit, which, he noted, follows other high-level visits, consistently carried out within a policy of exchanges.

For his part, the Deputy Minister of Finance of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Comrade Le Tan Can, expressed on behalf of himself and the other members of the high-level delegation that arrived in Cuba their "happiness" at being there. The leader, who arrived from the sister Asian nation, told his host: "This is the first time I have had the opportunity to visit Cuba, and I am very honored to be able to participate in this meeting with you and the comrades" from the country.

The Deputy Minister of Finance of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam stated that Monday morning's exchange had been very important not only for him personally, but also for the "special relationship" that exists between the Parties, peoples, and states of both nations.

Also present at the courtesy meeting on the Cuban side were the Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment (MINCEX), Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga; the Minister of Construction, René Mesa Villafaña; the Deputy Minister of MINCEX, Deborah Rivas Saavedra; and other government and foreign ministry officials.

This work was translated and shared via a License CC-BY-NC