HANOI.- If Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz assured, in the difficult times our country was going through, "that for Vietnam, Cuba was willing to give even its own blood," we must say today, in the difficult times Cuba is going through, "that for Cuba, we are willing to give all our effort, all our solidarity," said Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to representatives of his country's business community.
Although it was not part of the initial protocol, and both had met on Tuesday morning at the Government Palace, the local chief executive attended the afternoon meeting that the First Secretary of the Party Central Committee and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, had scheduled with businessmen and women from this Southeast Asian nation.
"We are confident that Cuba will overcome its current difficulties, just as Vietnam did in its time, with the help of friends around the world and progressive countries, including Cuba," said Pham Minh Chinh, but "our companies," he said, "must be pioneers in this collaboration."
Our companies, he emphasized, "have to take action, because with all their knowledge and wisdom, they can help Cubans in these difficult times. We have to do it, and if we do, we have to get results."
The Prime Minister shared ideas with local business leaders and the Cuban delegation on how to accelerate bilateral economic collaboration. First, he asked business leaders to consider the situation in which the island finds itself today as similar to that which Vietnam experienced 40 years
"At that time, we had just emerged from a war that devastated the country and were suffering from a blockade that lasted 30 years, from 1964 to 1994. Those of us who lived through those years remember it very well, and placing ourselves in that context will allow us to understand Cuba much better," he explained.
We were able to emerge from that situation with the help of friends, the USSR, China, Cambodia, Laos, and Cuba, which, although geographically so far away, brought us encouragement and support.
Cuba contributed greatly to making Vietnam a better country, and we will always be grateful for that, he said. And that is why, he explained, our businesspeople have to think and take action to help Cuba, as if they were doing so to help their own homeland, our country.
Based on the consensus reached between the First Secretaries of our parties, Comrades To Lam and Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, our countries have adopted policies and regulations to stimulate and accelerate this cooperation, but it is the businesspeople of both countries who must support these policies and implement them.
You, he added, have to implement them with all the feeling, with all the ideals that we Cubans and Vietnamese share, but it has to be effective cooperation, in the main areas identified and taking the shortest route. We cannot delay any longer, he insisted.
Pham Minh Chinh highlighted, as another line of work, the strengthening of bilateral cooperation in agriculture, with an emphasis on achieving, in the short term, self-sufficiency in rice for the largest of the Antilles.
He recalled that in 1989, Vietnam imported this cereal, but a year later it was already self-sufficient and became an exporter. We have to achieve the same thing in Cuba, he said, but not only with rice; we have to multiply it in fruit trees, meat and milk production, aquaculture, and other areas of the agri-food sector.
As a third line of work, the Prime Minister spoke in favor of encouraging Cuban businesses to invest in Vietnam, especially in cutting-edge sectors such as the biotechnology industry, vaccine production, and other pharmaceutical products.
Cuba, he said, is among the world's leading countries in terms of capacity and knowledge in this sector; we must take advantage of this, and our Ministry of Health must encourage such investments, as it has already done with the joint venture Genfarma.
A fourth idea put forward by the Head of Government to develop and consolidate economic and commercial cooperation concerned the need to seek and find the best mechanisms for collaboration to work under the principle of shared risks and shared profits.
Finally, he reiterated that the Vietnamese Party, State, Government, and people "are convinced that Cuba will overcome the current challenges and continue its great victories in defending the socialist homeland."
WITH THE VIETNAMESE BUSINESS COMMUNITY
During the exchange, Cuba's Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment (Mincex), Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, praised the progress made in bilateral cooperation over the last year, following the visit to the island by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, To Lam.
However, he noted, we are not satisfied with what has been achieved, as "some difficulties remain that will take time to resolve," such as those arising from financial difficulties, the energy crisis, and fuel availability, situations that are affecting Vietnamese businesses established in Cuba.
The head of Mincex highlighted the positive results achieved during the recently concluded 42nd Session of the Intergovernmental Commission, in which, he said, important actions were agreed upon for the period 2025-2026, in order to continue expanding economic, commercial, and cooperation ties.
Pérez-Oliva underscored the encouragement provided by the commitment shown by Vietnamese businesses to contribute to Cuba's economic and social development at a very difficult time.
"Vietnamese businesses," he emphasized, "have an active and growing presence in key sectors of our economy, share the daily difficulties of the Cuban people, and participate in the search for solutions."
CUBA HAS A LOYAL FRIEND IN THE VIETNAMESE BUSINESS COMMUNITY
In his exchange with businesswomen and businessmen, President Díaz-Canel Bermúdez reported that the presence of companies in the Caribbean nation, the difficulties they face, and the prospects opening up for them there were topics addressed in all the meetings he held with the main leaders of the sister country during these days.
He highlighted the contribution being made by companies established in Cuba in vital sectors such as renewable energy and food production, which are also part of the Economic and Social Development Plan until 2030.
The Head of State addressed a wide range of business opportunities offered by the country. He also expressed his willingness to evaluate all business proposals that arise and reaffirmed that Cuba's doors will always be open to the Vietnamese.
Finally, he urged that in the year of the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, intensive work be done to strengthen economic, commercial, and cooperation ties, which we hope, he said, will be on the same level as the excellent political relations that Cuba and Vietnam maintain.
