Vietnam, Cuba strive to raising two-way trade to US$500 million by 2025

The information was set out during the 38th meeting of the Vietnam-Cuba Inter-Governmental Committee, held virtually on the morning of December 30 (Hanoi time) under the chair of Vietnamese Minister of Construction Pham Hong Ha and Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz.

According to the Cuban official, the two countries have hosted assorted activities since the beginning of the year to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of bilateral diplomatic ties (1960-2020).

Vietnam continues to consolidate its position as the second largest trade partner of Cuba in Asia and one of 20 potential partners in the world, he stressed.

The Vietnam-Cuba Free Trade Agreement became effective in April this year, generating benefits for both business circles so as to lift bilateral trade to new heights.

For his part, Vietnamese minister Pham Hong Ha emphasised that Vietnam-Cuba cooperation has further developed and expanded in various fields from politics, diplomacy, defence to economics and science-technology.

The two countries have also supported each other at multilateral fora.

He briefed the participants that two-way trade turnover reached US$262 million in 2019 and US$102 million in the first ten months of this year.

He pledged that Vietnam would continue providing the most favourable conditions for businesses from the two countries to operate and invest in Vietnam and Cuba.

Vietnam is also willing to increase bilateral cooperation in agriculture, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology while seeking new cooperation opportunities in other fields such as finance, banking, trade, investment, construction, transport, culture, sports, and tourism, he added.

At the meeting, the two sides inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance Vietnam-Cuba comprehensive cooperation.