Hanoi (VNA) – General Director of theVietnam News Agency (VNA) Vu Viet Trang and President of the Prensa Latina (PL)news agency of Cuba Luis Enrique Gonzalez Acosta signed a new cooperationagreement during their talks in Havana on April 18 (Cuba time), which tookplace within the framework of the ongoing official visit to the Caribbeannation by National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

The VNA leader highlighted the cooperation achievements betweenthe two news agencies over the past nearly six decades and congratulated thePL on its new developments over the past years.

The continued cooperation with new projects isessential and matches global development trends, she stressed.

For his part, Gonzalez Acosta thanked the VNA for itssupport in all aspects since the two news agencies established theircooperative ties, noting that it would have been difficult for the PL to fulfill its taskswithout the assistance amid the severe economic embargo against Cuba.

Gonzalez Acosta affirmed his further support to theVNA’s representative office in Havana in all activities when necessary, and in improving the quality of the Spanish version of the agency’s VietnamPictorial.

The two sides reviewed the implementation ofbilateral cooperation programmes in information exchange, the publication ofVietnam Pictorial, expert exchange and support to each other's correspondents.

They shared the view on the importance of thebilateral cooperation, which has helped maintain the flow of news, providingpeople of the two countries with diverse information and a true view on thedevelopment of the two countries and their socio-economic-political situation,thus contributing more to enhancing understanding and traditional friendshipbetween Vietnam and Cuba.

Trang told her host that PL’s experts havehelped the VNA effectively in producing information in Spanish, training youngsub-editors and publishing the Spanish version of Vietnam Pictorial in LatinAmerica.

In this regard, Gonzalez Acosta affirmed that the PLalways stands ready to support and send experts to the VNA, adding that theexperts said they had learned a lot during their term in the Southeast Asiannation.

To contribute to consolidating the Vietnam-Cubatraditional friendship and celebrating the 50th anniversary of Cuban leaderFidel Castro Ruz's visit to Vietnam (September 1973), the two sides agreed tocoordinate in organising photo exhibitions in both countries. The VNA leader invited the PL chief to visit Vietnam on the celebration.  

On this occasion, the VNA presented its Cubancounterpart with specialised equipment to help the PLmeet development requirements in the digital age.

The two news agencies established their cooperativeties in 1966. The same year, the VNA opened its representative office in Havana,also its first in Latin America, creating a foundation for the VNA to openmore offices in the region. The PL later also opened its representative office inHanoi.

The two news agencies have facilitated the operationof their correspondents in respective countries. The VNA has partially financedthe operation of the PL’s office in Hanoi.

The PL’s journalists and experts have actively covered the situation in Vietnam, and have participated in the National ExternalInformation Service Awards in Vietnam over the past years.

The partnership could be seen as a successful model ofinternational cooperation of the VNA in both the wartime and the present periodof national development and international integration.

The PL has been a quality source of informationabout Cuba and Latin America, as well as an effective external information channelfor the VNA in the region. Meanwhile, VNA has provided a reliable source ofinformation for the Cuban news agency in Southeast Asia./.