Day: September 20, 2021

Deputy head of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations Truong Quang Hoai Nam had a working session with leaders of the Communist Party of Cuba (CPC) Central Committee’s Department of External Relations in Havana on September 19.

Nam lauded the achievements that Cuba has gained in various fields such as education, health care, and biotechnology, while sharing difficulties that Cuba is facing.

The leaders of the CPC Central Committee’s Department of External Relations, including acting head of the department Angel Arzuaga Reyes and deputy head of the department Juan Carlos Marsan, expressed their delight at the growing ties between Vietnam and Cuba, including sound relations between the two Parties and the two agencies for external relations.

They emphasised the need to continue promoting the bilateral political relations, especially educating the youth and young Party members of both sides on the special friendship between the two countries. It is necessary to further strengthen bilateral economic, trade and investment partnership to match the sound political ties between the two Parties and nations, they stressed.

Vietnamese, Cuban parties strengthen ties hinh anh 2A Vietnam-Cuba stamp collection

(Photo: VNA)

Both sides concurred to continue working closely together and effectively implementing the cooperation agreements between the two Parties in the 2018-2023 period, including the exchange of delegations at all levels and the organisation of the fifth theoretical conference as well as activities to mark the 55th anniversary of the historical meeting between Cuban leader Raúl Castro and President Ho Chi Minh (1966-2021).

Angel Arzuaga Reyes took the chance to invite Le Hoai Trung, member of the CPV Central Committee and head of the CPV Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations, to visit Cuba.

On the occasion, the commission presented 100,000 facemasks to the CPC Central Committee’s Department of External Relations.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked the COVAX Facility to quickly allocate COVID-19 vaccines to Vietnam during a teleconference with its Office Managing Director Aurélia Nguyen on September 20.

PM Chinh highly valued the role of COVAX in seeking supplies, coordinating and fairly distributing COVID-19 vaccines around the world, which has significantly contributed to common efforts to control the pandemic.

He stressed that COVID-19 is a global issue which requires a global approach and stronger and more effective international cooperation to prevent, roll back, and control the pandemic.

In the short term, it is necessary to support the equal access to COVID-19 vaccines and drugs via multilateral and bilateral mechanisms, he noted.

The Government leader affirmed Vietnam’s consistent policy of putting people’s health and safety first and above all, and that the country is striving to achieve vaccine coverage of the entire population as fast and soon as possible.

Since July 2021, Vietnam has carried out the largest vaccination campaign in history and effectively used the acquired vaccines on the basis of the guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the COVAX Facility, he added.

PM Chinh said Vietnam is facing vaccine-related difficulties, so to ensure sufficient vaccines for people, he asked COVAX to prioritise allocating vaccines to Vietnam as fast and much as possible, especially in September, October, and November, and to fulfill the vaccine provision agreement with Vietnam in 2021.

The country has conducted and will continue the fast and most effective administration of the vaccine doses it has received, he affirmed, adding that it is ready to provide all necessary information so that COVAX can consider distributing vaccines to Vietnam early.

At the meeting, he asked COVAX to coordinate and supply the Moderna vaccine for Vietnam in order to inoculate people with the second doses, while helping connect and share information about countries that are likely to have spare vaccines or those that have been given but do not use vaccines immediately so that Vietnam can borrow or purchase.

The PM also called on the Facility to assist Vietnam to enhance cooperation with international partners in vaccine and drug production and to access sources of vaccines for people under the age of 18.

He noted that in the spirit of international solidarity, the country has contributed 500,000 USD to COVAX, and it is considering more donations to the Facility. It has also actively engaged in global efforts against the pandemic.

For her part, Aurélia Nguyen highly valued Vietnam’s achievements in the COVID-19 fight, noting that the country has carried out vaccination in a smart, scientific, transparent, timely, and effective manner.

COVAX views Vietnam as one of the typical examples of effectively implementing the immunisation campaign and the pandemic prevention and control

The Facility will exert every effort to realise its commitments to Vietnam, she said, adding it will continue allocating 85 million vaccine doses to countries around the world, including Vietnam, this October and that it will keep the distribution to Vietnam in the time ahead.

The Managing Director also applauded the country’s long-term vision in researching, developing and working towards self-sufficiency of vaccine.

She voiced her belief that with efforts, strong determination, and right directions in the COVID-19 fight, the Government and people of Vietnam will soon surmount the current trying time.

Her colleagues and she are ready to assist and discuss with Vietnam about the vaccine issue at any time during the bilateral cooperation process, Nguyen added.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Performance reports by the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuracy, and the Government’s reports on crime fight were the focus of the 15th National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on September 20.

In the morning of the sixth working day of the NA Standing Committee’s third session, participants gave opinions on the 2021 performance reports by the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuracy, along with the Government’s reports on the prevention and control of crimes and law violations, the enforcement of judgments, and the corruption combat this year.

They said despite numerous difficulties caused by the complex COVID-19 situation in Vietnam and the world, under the Party’s leadership and thanks to the close coordination among agencies in the political system, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Procuracy and Government agencies have shown good performance and recorded improvements in different areas.

NA Vice Chairman Nguyen Khac Dinh said the reports by the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuracy, and the Government have been prepared thoroughly and feature many reforms. He asked for the reports to be updated with August and September statistics so as to be submitted to the parliament at its second session in October.

In the afternoon, the NA Standing Committee commented on the reports by the Government, the Supreme People’s Court, and the Supreme People’s Procuracy on the settlement of complaints and denunciations in 2021.

Dinh noted the legislature will exercise its supervision over complaint and denunciation settlement nationwide.

The NA Standing Committee requested relevant Government agencies, the Supreme People’s Court, and the Supreme People’s Procuracy to take into account opinions raised at the meeting to further detail the reports, which as NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said must straightforwardly look into the truth, tell the truth, and give precise assessment of the reality, and identify right issues.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam will promote investment projects in the Mariel Special Development Zone in practical fields serving the development and daily needs of Cuban people, especially production of essential goods, high-tech industry and infrastructure development, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has said.

The President made the statement at a reception in Havana on September 20 morning (local time) for Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz and leaders of the Mariel Special Development Zone.

At the meeting, the two sides discussed potential and advantages of the zone in the western province of Artemisa province of Cuba.

Diaz warmly welcomed President Phuc’s visit to Cuba, saying it opens up many cooperation opportunities in investment, trade and economy between businesses of the two countries.

Emphasising the potential and advantages of the zone, the minister said that this special economic zone has achieved many positive results in recent years, offering good conditions for attracting foreign investment and high-tech projects to Cuba, thus promoting the country’s export activities in the coming time.

Cuba issued a law permitting foreign investment in the over-400,000-hectare development zone, which has attracted projects in biotechnology, pharmaceutical production, consumer goods manufacturing, banking, construction and some other sectors. The zone offers an attractive tax exemption policy for investors and handles procedures under the single-window model in just 60 days.

Vietnam to promote projects in Cuba’s Mariel Special Development Zone: President hinh anh 2

The meeting between President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz and leaders of the Mariel Special Development Zone. (Photo: VNA)

So far, the Mariel Special Development Zone has approved 59 projects, 34 of which have become operational, worth over 3 billion USD in total from 21 countries. Among these projects, three are invested by Vietnam.

Leaders of the zone expressed their hope for more investment projects from Vietnam on the basis of the two countries’ special traditional friendship and many cooperation agreements signed in the judicial, trade, and financial areas.

President Phuc noted with satisfaction that Vietnam and Cuba has just finished negotiations and signed an official contract under which Vietnam will buy 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine from Cuba. He described this as a particularly important achievement marking the comprehensive success of his official visit to Cuba this time.

The Vietnamese leader said Cuba’s building of an special economic zone, industrial park, and processing area is in line with the common trend of countries worldwide.

He lauded Vietnamese firms’ investment in the special development zone despite the long distance and expressed his delight at the fact that Vietnam is the second biggest foreign investor in Cuba.

President Phuc expected that Cuba will invest more in the zone’s infrastructure and offer a flexible and preferential investment policy to attract more investors. Favourable and simple administrative procedures to create the best possible conditions for investors are needed, he added.

On the occasion, the President called on Vietnamese enterprises to pay attention to and increase investment in the Mariel Special Development Zone.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son held a meeting with Cuban Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcelino Medina in Havana on September 19 (local time).

Son, who was accompanying President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on an official visit to Cuba from September 18-20, emphasised the important significance of the Vietnamese leader’s trip in the current context, saying that it manifested the special friendship, close solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Cuba.

He highly appreciated the close coordination between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Embassies of Vietnam and Cuba in preparing for President Phuc’s first visit to Cuba.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its Cuban counterpart will urge other ministries and sectors of the two nations to effectively implement high-level agreements reached by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Son said.

Medina stressed that President Phuc’s visit was the first official high-level activity in Cuba since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in the country. Leaders and the people of Cuba have attached great importance to the visit, considering it as vivid evidence of consistent solidarity and timely mutual support between the two nations, he added.

The two sides agreed to continue flexibly carrying out the political consultation mechanism at the deputy foreign minister level amid complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They also consented to strengthen coordination, cooperation and mutual support at international organisations and multilateral forums of which both nations are members, especially the United Nations.

The officials held that amid current challenges, the two sides will actively promote cooperative ties in different fields to match with fine political relations between Vietnam and Cuba for the common interests of both nations.

At the end of the meeting, Son and Medina witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and the Raúl Roa García Higher Institute of International Relations of Cuba by Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Hoang Giang and his Cuban counterpart Gerardo Penalver.

Source: Vietnam News Agency