Havana, March 29 (EFE).- Cuban President Raúl Castro received this Thursday in Havana the leader of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong, with whom he witnessed the signing of important bilateral pacts, including the condonation of the island's debt to the Asian nation, which has not been quantified.
Castro and Phu Trong reviewed the "excellent" state of bilateral relations at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana and reaffirmed their "historic" character, Cuban state media reported.
In addition, they expressed the purpose of continuing the high-level political dialogue, promoting "comprehensive cooperation" in various areas, "strengthening" the exchange between parties and on the processes of socialist construction of the two nations and discussing multilateral, regional and common interest.
Both attended the signing of nine agreements to strengthen government cooperation and economic and commercial relations, one of them for exchange and cooperation between the Cuban and Vietnamese communist parties, and another on the forgiveness of the island's debts with the Indochinese country.
This official meeting with a foreign dignitary is probably the last one in which Castro will participate as a host before his retirement from the Presidency, scheduled for April 19, when the National Assembly (unicameral Parliament) will designate his successor.
rice production
Representatives of the two governments signed documents referring to the negotiations for a new bilateral trade pact, a framework agreement on Vietnam-Cuba cooperation for rice production in the Caribbean country during the period 2018-2022 and a treaty for mutual legal assistance. in criminal matters.
They also signed memoranda on scientific and technological cooperation, environmental protection and response to climate change and construction.
Agreements were also reached between youth organizations from both countries, the Vietnamese state news agencies VNA and the Cuban ACN, in the sectors of communications, justice, military medicine, labor and social affairs.
The Vietnamese communist leader awarded Raúl Castro with the Order of the Golden Star, the highest distinction that Vietnam grants to foreign heads of state, for his "great and extraordinary outstanding merits in strengthening and consolidating special relations between the parties." , states and governments" of both nations.
Raúl Castro - who is also the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC, the only legal one) - thanked the "honorable order" received and highlighted that the "endearing friendship" between both nations has stood the test of time and they have built a relationship "solid."
He affirmed that the peoples, parties and governments of Cuba and Vietnam have remained "united and share mutual experiences today in the construction of a socialist society" and praised their "example in the fight for their independence," as well as their "constancy and effort in socialist construction".
The Vietnamese firm Viglacera will have a commercial park in Mariel
Phu Trong participated in a bilateral business forum that resulted in several agreements, one of which grants the Vietnamese firm Viglacera the first administrative concession from the Cuban government to develop an industrial park in the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM), the largest island project to attract foreign investments.
Viglacera also agreed to manage and market the former Havana New York hotel and the Hanel company signed a memorandum for the construction, operation and marketing of a five-star hotel also in the Cuban capital, the main tourist area of the island.
Vietnam It is Cuba's second trading partner in Asia, with a bilateral trade exchange that in 2017 reached 220 million dollars and could reach 500 million in 2020, according to official projections.
This is the second official visit to Cuba by Phu Trong, who will close his stay on the island this Friday with a visit to the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba, where he will pay tribute to the hero of the island's wars of independence, José Martí, and the late leader Fidel Castro.
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