• Submitted by: lena campos
• Business and Economy
• 09 / 19 / 2012

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The 30 Session of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Mechanism between Cuba and Vietnam began today, aiming at reviewing the results of the current programs and the future of mutual economic and technical-scientific cooperation.

  Minister of Construction of Vietnam, Trinh Dinh Dung, heads the Vietnamese delegation, while the Cuban side is chaired by the Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca.

Since last Thursday experts from both delegation are working in the analysis of different themes that are included in the partnership agreement until 2013 and the results of actions taken between this and the previous meeting, held in Hanoi in October 2011.

Topics for the upcoming program include health, biotechnology, manufacturing, construction, information and communications, transportation, finance and customs, education, culture, sports, tourism, broadcasting, oil and renewable energy.

While welcoming the Vietnamese delegation, Rodrigo Malmierca stressed the special character of bilateral relations due to the full identification in all matters and common will to expand and strengthen them.

Malmierca meant that the two countries have cultivated strong relationships based on solidarity and mutual respect, in which he highligted confidence in Cuba in relation to the difficulties faced and the ability of its people and government to deal with them and overcome them.

He also stressed Cuba�s favorable results in the first half of this year, when it grew 2.1 percent, which contributed to the growth of trade and construction.

Trinh Dinh Dung also stressed the positive economic performance of Vietnam in the first eight months of this year, which they expect to close to 5.5 percent of GDP increase.

Vietnam is now the second largest trading partner of Cuba in Asia, and its main supplier of rice since 1999.

Both countries developed an important cooperation project linked to the food industry in key activities such as cultivation of the same product, corn, soy and aquaculture, which help to ensure food security for the Cubans.

Source: Prensa Latina