Present at the event on the host country’s side was Senior Lieutenant General Alvaro Lopez Miera, Minister of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces; and Lieutenant General Roberto Legra Sotolongo, Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Minister of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.
Senior Lieutenant General Alvaro Lopez Miera spoke highly of the Vietnamese President’s visit to Cuba and the first meeting of the two sides’ leaders over the past two years, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that the visit affirmed the special solidarity and friendship between Vietnam and Cuba.
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Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien presents medical supplies to Cuban counterpart. |
For his part, General Chien thanked the leaders of the Cuban Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces for their warm welcome. He also respectfully conveyed best regards and invitation of Vietnamese Defense Minister Phan Van Giang and Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Tan Cuong to visit Vietnam to Senior Lieutenant General Alvaro Lopez Miera and Lieutenant General Roberto Legra Sotolongo respectively.
Over the past time, the two defense ministries have enjoyed the sound defense cooperation which was in line with all signed documents and agreements as well as commitments of the two countries’ senior leaders, contributing to promoting the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Cuba.
In the coming time, both sides will further beef up delegation exchange, high-level dialogues and cooperation in defense industry, personnel training, cyber security, military medicine and other fields of potential. The Cuban side is eager to work closely with the Vietnamese Defense Ministry in order to soon complete a documentary on Vietnam-Cuba defense cooperation.
Regarding bilateral cooperation in COVID-19 prevention and control, they will soon build and sign a five-year cooperation plan between the two military medical forces, laying the foundation for expanding cooperation into new prospective areas.
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The two sides sign the three-year defense cooperation plan for 2020-2022 period. |
On this occasion, General Chien thanked the Cuban Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces for their medical assistance as well as sending experts to Vietnam to cope with the COVID-19 outbreak while the country was facing numerous challenges. The Vietnamese deputy defense minister also made proposals to receive the made-in-Cuba vaccine. Besides, Vietnam will present 100 tons of corn seeds and medical supplies to the Cuban people, and fund the Cuban military in the fight against the pandemic, totaling over VND 10 billion.
At the talks, the host committed to offer 150,000 doses of Abdala COVID-19 vaccine and anti-COVID-19 drugs to Vietnam. The vaccine will be transported to Vietnam on the same flight of the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation back home. At the end of the talks, the two sides also signed the three-year defense cooperation plan for the 2020-2022 period.
Within the framework of the visit, General Chien also visited the Vietnamese Defense Attaché Office in Cuba, and made phone calls to encourage officials and experts of the Vietnamese Defense Ministry in Cuba to overcome difficulties to successfully complete all assigned tasks.
Translated by Minh Anh