Hanoi (VNA) – A workshop on trade and investment promotion in Cuba andthe 8th meeting of the Vietnam-Cuba Joint Business Council were heldin Hanoi on April 9 by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) andthe Cuban Chamber of Commerce.

Addressing the event, VCCI Vice Chairman Doan Duy Khuong said that tradebetween Vietnam and Cuba increased by 2.4 times, from 142 million USD in 2013to 336 million USD last year.

Vietnam mainly exports rice, consumer goods, metal, paper, pottery,chemicals, machines and garments and textiles to Cuba, while importingpharmaceutical products and functional foods from the Caribbean country, hesaid.

As of late 2018, Cuba had invested 6.7 million USD into two projects inVietnam, ranking 77th out of 130 countries and territories pouringcapital into the Southeast Asian country, Khuong said.

However, the results failed to match with cooperation potential andadvantages of both countries, he stressed.

Meanwhile, Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Lianys Torres Rivera toldparticipants that 2018 was a successful year for the bilateral relations,reflected through the exchange of high-level visits.

She noted that during a state visit to Cuba in March 2018 by GeneralSecretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and PresidentNguyen Phu Trong, the two sides signed 22 cooperation documents, including foureconomic contracts, demonstrating their determination to lift trade ties to anew height.

Cuba will create more favourable conditions for bilateral tradecollaboration, the ambassador affirmed.

Omar de Jesus Fernandez Jimenez, General Secretary of the Cuban Chamberof Commerce, suggested the two countries enhance cooperation in health services,biology, information technology and aquaculture.

He voiced his hope that the business communities of Cuba and Vietnamwill carry out more projects and expand collaboration.-VNA