At the meeting in the headquarters of VUFO.
Phong welcomed the delegates who had a special visit to Vietnam, adding that the visit by Cuban friends right after a State visit of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and his high-ranking delegation to Cuba.
Despite geographical distance, the two countries have always united and offered mutual wholehearted support for the struggle for national independence in the past as well as the national development nowadays.
The Party, State and people of Vietnam always bear in mind the precious assistance from the Party, State and people of Cuba, he said.
In addition, he shared with his guests activities to celebrate historic events in 2018, which the VUFO and the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association will cooperate closely with the Cuban side, for example the 45thanniversary of Fidel Castro’s historic visit to the southern liberation zone of Vietnam in Quang Tri (September 1973-2018), adding that he believes that such activities would contribute to further deepening the exemplary brotherhood, traditional friendship, cooperation and solidarity between the two countries’ people.
VUFO Vice President in-charge and General Secretary Don Tuan Phong and ICAP President Fernando Gonzalez.
For his part, Fernando Gonzalez highlighted the outcomes of the two sides’ high-level meetings are a vivid manifestation of the close-knit relations between Cuba and Vietnam.
The ICAP President praised the affiliations between the VUFO and ICAP and hoped to promote solidarity and friendship between the two peoples through the two agencies’ cooperation programmes.
Fernando became President of ICAP in March 2017, replaced Kenia Serrano Puig. He was arrested in Miami in 1998 and served over 15 years in U.S. prisons before being released on February 27th, 2014.
He said the ICAP has continually coordinated with relevant agencies, organisations and the Vietnamese Embassy in Cuba to promote ties with Vietnam.
The ICAP and the Cuba-Vietnam Friendship Association will make every effort to make greater contributions to the solidarity, friendship and cooperation between the two nations, he said.
Two sides pose for a group photo.
During the meeting, both sides discussed joint work between the ICAP and the VUFO. The two sides agreed that they will sign a new cooperation agreement in 2019 to extend their relations and foster bilateral ties via mutual visits and people-to-people exchange.
The document will further affirm the coordination mechanisms between the two organisations and their determination to continue working to consolidate the friendship and solidarity between the two nations and peoples./.
VNF
