Hanoi (VNA)♚ – President Tran Dai Quang’s upcoming visit to Cuba from November 15-17, made at the invitation of President of the Cuban Council of State and Council of Ministers Raul Castro, is hoped to further strengthen solidarity between the two nations.

With diplomatic ties established in December 1960, Vietnam-Cuba relations have been developed in numerous fields, becoming a valuable asset for both nations’ national revolutionary cause. Cuba attaches importance to all-around ties with Vietnam, especially in agriculture, construction, education, health, biotechnology, transport, and sports. Generations of leaders and people of the two countries have made efforts to deepen relations. The two sides have maintained all-level visits and cooperation mechanisms of the Intergovernmental Committees, theoretical workshops between the two Parties, political consultation between the two ministries of Foreign Affairs and security-defence dialogues. Economic-trade and investment cooperation has recorded fruitful results, with two-way trade at about 200 million USD per year. The two sides have cooperated in agriculture and aquaculture projects, telecommunications, bio-product production, science-technology, culture, tourism, education-training, and higher education. Vietnamese and Cuban enterprises are working to accelerate investment in tourism infrastructure, consumer products and construction materials in Cuba. The two countries have also supported each other in international organisations and multilateral forums. In recent years, the Vietnamese Government has created favourable conditions for the two sides’ business communities to expand their links, towards bringing economic connections up to the level of diplomatic ties. Vietnamese businesses have focused more on making inroads into Cuba, while the Cuban side is calling on Vietnamese firms to invest in oil and gas projects, industry, tourism, and prioritised fields in the Mariel Special Development Zone . Following his Cuba visit, President Quang will attend the 24th High-level Week of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in Lima, Peru, from November 17-20, at the invitation of Peruvian President Pedro Paplo Kuczynsky. Vietnam joined APEC in 1998, an important milestone in pursuing a diplomatic policy guided by openness, diversification, multilateralisation and integration in the world economy. The country’s participation in the 24th High-level week of APEC, is expected to contribute to promoting issues of common concern of Vietnam and other ASEAN member nations, deepening bilateral relations between Vietnam and its key partners and attracting more investment from APEC member countries. Over the last 18 years, Vietnam has been an active member of APEC, hosting the 14th APEC Summit in 2006, which proposed establishing a free trade area in Asia-Pacific, approved the Hanoi action plan to achieve the Bogor goals, and reformed measures to create new momentum for APEC’s cooperation. The country also successfully held the 6th APEC Human Resources Development Ministerial Meeting in 2014. Vietnam proposed and implemented more than 100 initiatives across fields such as trade, investment, and small- and medium-sized enterprises, economic-technical cooperation, emergency response, health care, food security, and anti-terrorism.-VNA