The statement was made by Secretary Tran Luu Quang of the HCMC Party Committee yesterday afternoon while receiving Esteban Lazo Hernández, President of the National Assembly and President of the Council of State of Cuba, on the occasion of his official visit to Ho Chi Minh City.
At the meeting, President Esteban Lazo Hernández reported on the outcomes of recent discussions with leaders of the Party, State, Government, and National Assembly of Vietnam. He emphasized that bilateral relations have entered a new stage, marked by two historic milestones including the visit to Cuba by General Secretary To Lam in 2024, and the planned visit to Vietnam by First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez in 2025.
The Cuban National Assembly President noted that cooperation projects between the two countries are being implemented effectively, particularly in agriculture. Vietnam’s support in boosting Cuba’s rice production has yielded encouraging results, with the first crop reaching nearly 7 tons per hectare. Building on this success, Cuba is encouraging farmers to adopt Vietnamese cultivation models, supported by Vietnamese enterprises providing seeds and essential inputs. He expressed confidence that with Vietnam’s experience and assistance, Cuba will soon achieve food self-sufficiency.
Highlighting the role of Vietnamese enterprises, including those from Ho Chi Minh City, President Esteban Lazo Hernández affirmed that the Cuban Government has introduced favorable mechanisms to facilitate investment. Cuba hopes to attract more Vietnamese enterprises across key sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, energy, and biotechnology. Addressing Cuba’s current challenges, including electricity shortages, he noted that experts from both countries are enhancing cooperation to seek effective solutions.
Looking ahead to the 9th Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba in 2026, President Esteban Lazo Hernández stressed Cuba’s desire to learn from Vietnam’s Renovation process and socialist construction experience. In addition to central-level exchanges, he expressed interest in observing Ho Chi Minh City’s achievements directly, suggesting that more twinning agreements between Cuban localities and Ho Chi Minh City would deepen cooperation.
For his part, Secretary Tran Luu Quang expressed gratitude for Cuba’s solidarity and acknowledged the similarities between Cuba’s current challenges and Vietnam’s past experiences. He affirmed agreement on prioritizing agricultural cooperation to ensure food security, emphasizing that Vietnam, including Ho Chi Minh City, is committed to supporting Cuba in producing rice independently and sustainably.
The Secretary also underlined the importance of energy cooperation, alongside agriculture, as a priority area for future collaboration. He thanked the Cuban Government for preferential policies granted to Vietnamese enterprises and encouraged continued support to attract more investment from Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City. He stressed that the success of existing enterprises in Cuba would pave the way for expanded investment, noting biotechnology as a promising sector of interest for Vietnamese businesses in the near future.
