VUFO President Nguyen Phuong Nga (R) presents a certificate of merit to outgoing Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Lianys Torres Rivera in Hanoi on November 23. Photo: VNT |
Speaking at the event, VUFO President Nguyen Phuong Nga congratulated the Ambassador on her successful working tenure in Vietnam and lauded the diplomat’s contributions to Vietnam-Cuba ties, particularly in economy, culture, health, education as well as exchanges and cooperation between businesses, organizations and people.
She has actively participated in people-to-people friendship activities in general and those hosted by the VUFO and the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association in particular, such as commemorating the 45th anniversary of President Fidel Castro's visit to Quang Tri (September 2018); high-level visits including the delegation of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong visiting Cuba (March 2018) and the visit to Vietnam by President Miguel Diaz Canel-Bermudez; a series of activities celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2020.
Nga also hoped that, in any position, Rivera will make positive contributions to consolidating and developing the friendship, solidarity and cooperation relations between the Vietnamese and Cuban people.
The Cuban diplomat expressed her gratitude toward receiving the insignia, the most notable reward of the VUFO, in the context of the 70th anniversary of the organisation that plays a core role in people-to-people diplomacy, in promoting friendship and peace in the region and internationally.
She affirmed VUFO's role in organizing activities to celebrate the 60th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations in Vietnam, with many events such as book introductions, photo exhibition, and online seminars.
Accordingly, the central Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association and the club of Vietnamese alumni in April also started a campaign and raised over VND 1,57 billion (USD 67.000) to help Cuba in the fight against the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic.
Rivera pledged that the embassy will continue to work closely with the VUFO and the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association to further strengthen the special solidarity between Vietnam and Cuba.
Earlier, Cuban Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera, on November 20 held a farewell meeting with Truong Thi Mai, Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Mass Mobilisation, and President of Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association.
At the meeting, Rivera highly valued the activities of the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association and Vietnamese alumni club, with constant initiatives to preserve the common historical memory and perpetuate the memory of the Caribbean island in every corner of Vietnam.
She also thanked the Association for its support in the activities organised in commemoration of 60 years of bilateral diplomatic ties, including several book presentations, seminars, and more recently a photo exhibition./.