General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong holds talks with Cuban President Raul Castro

On the afternoon of March 29 (local time), the official welcoming ceremony for General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's state visit to the Republic of Cuba at the invitation of Mr. Raul Castro Ruz, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, President of the Council of State and the Council of Ministers of Cuba, was solemnly held at the Palace of the Revolution in the capital city of Havana.

After the official welcoming ceremony, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Raul Castro held talks.

At the talks, Mr. Raul Castro expressed his pleasure to welcome General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and the high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese Party and State to pay a State visit to Cuba; affirming that the visit has special significance in consolidating and strengthening the special relationship between the two Parties, two States and the deep affection between the people of the two countries.

Mr. Raul Castro warmly congratulated the Party, State and people of Vietnam on the great and historic achievements in the more than 30 years of Doi Moi; expressed his belief that under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Vietnamese people will continue to gain many new victories in the cause of building and defending the Fatherland in the coming time.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed that the Party, State and people of Vietnam have always had sincere friendship and solidarity with the Party, State and people of Cuba; emphasizing that Leader Fidel is forever a great friend of the Vietnamese people, and that Fidel's example, career and ideology will live forever in the hearts of the people of the two countries.

The General Secretary warmly congratulated the Party, State and people of Cuba on their steadfastness in the revolutionary path and the achievements in implementing the policy of updating the socio-economic model initiated and deployed by the Communist Party of Cuba; congratulated Cuba on successfully organizing the elections of People's Councils at all levels and the National Assembly for the new term; and firmly believed that the Party, State and people of Cuba will continue to unite to overcome all challenges and difficulties, bringing Cuba's revolutionary cause to continue to move forward steadily in the new period.

The two leaders affirmed that the special Cuba-Vietnam relationship, nurtured by President Ho Chi Minh and Leader Fidel Castro, is a priceless asset of the two Parties, two States and two peoples; emphasizing that both sides need to make constant efforts to preserve, protect, nurture and pass it on to future generations.

Mr. Raul Castro sincerely expressed his gratitude for the good feelings that the Party, State and people of Vietnam have for the Party, State and people of Cuba; and expressed his gratitude for Vietnam's decision to cancel Cuba's government debt.

The two leaders agreed to increase high-level exchanges and contacts, improve the quality and effectiveness of cooperation mechanisms, effectively implement signed agreements, and promote experience exchange in all fields, especially in leadership, management, socio-economic development, and Party building.

The two sides agreed to focus on promoting economic, trade, investment and youth education cooperation; continue close cooperation in defense, security and foreign affairs; actively coordinate and support each other at multilateral forums, promote people-to-people exchanges and educate the two countries' youth.

Regarding economic cooperation, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Mr. Raul Castro agreed to cooperate closely, make creative efforts, and seek solutions suitable to the actual situation of each country to bring the economic relations between the two countries to a more positive, practical, and effective development, commensurate with the political relations and cooperation potential of the two countries.

The two leaders expressed satisfaction with the complete similarity in the two countries' positions on many international issues; agreed to continue supporting each other at international organizations and multilateral forums of which the two countries are members, especially at the United Nations, including supporting each other's candidates, and unifying common positions through regular exchanges between the two governments.

Vietnam pledged to support Cuba's candidacy for the Human Rights Council for the 2021-2023 term; Cuba affirmed its support for Vietnam's candidacy for the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 term.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong respectfully invited Mr. Raul Castro to visit Vietnam again soon, expressing his belief that Mr. Raul's visit to Vietnam in the context of the two countries celebrating the 45th anniversary of Leader Fidel's visit to Vietnam will be a new historical milestone in the special relationship between the two Parties and the two countries of Vietnam and Cuba.

Mr. Raul Castro sincerely thanked General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong for his invitation and said he would arrange to visit Vietnam at an appropriate time in the near future./.