    |
 |
|
General Nguyen Tan Cuong lays wreath in tribute to President Ho Chi Minh. |
Senior Lieutenant General Roberto Legrá Sotolongo, Chief of the General Staff and First Deputy Minister of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, attended the ceremony.
In 2002, Vietnam erected a statue of Cuban national hero José Martí in Hanoi. Shortly afterward, the Vietnam–Cuba Friendship Association proposed building a statue of President Ho Chi Minh in Havana. The bronze bust, crafted by Vietnamese artisans, rests on a 54-square-meter red marble base symbolizing Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups. Since its inauguration, the monument has become a familiar venue for commemorative and friendship events between the two nations. Every year on May 19, the Vietnamese Embassy in Cuba, along with many Cuban citizens and friends, gathers to lay flowers in memory of President Ho Chi Minh.
|
|
 |
|
General Nguyen Tan Cuong and the delegation pay tribute to President Ho Chi Minh. |
During the event, General Nguyen Tan Cuong expressed his gratitude to the Cuban people for their enduring affection for President Ho Chi Minh—a leader who devoted his entire life to the cause of national liberation and socialism in Vietnam and around the world.
The Vietnamese defense leader affirmed his belief that the special Vietnam–Cuba relationship, founded and nurtured by Presidents Ho Chi Minh and Fidel Castro, will continue to be cherished, preserved, and strengthened by future generations of leaders of the Party, the State, the military, and the people of both countries.
|
|
 |
|
Generel Cuong talks with Cuban people at President Ho Chi Minh Park. |
Later, General Nguyen Tan Cuong and the Vietnamese delegation visited the Máximo Gómez Command Academy and attended a screening and handover ceremony for Episodes 4 and 5 of the documentary series Two Hearts Beat as One, co-produced by the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense and the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.
The academy’s leadership warmly welcomed General Cuong and the delegation, providing an overview of the academy’s functions, responsibilities, and development history. Over the past 62 years, the academy has served as a key institution for training senior officers of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces and has become a major center for scientific research.
In his remarks, General Nguyen Tan Cuong reaffirmed that the Vietnam People’s Army fully supports strengthening cooperation between the academy and units and agencies of the Vietnam People’s Army, and stands ready to facilitate collaboration and knowledge-sharing to enhance training and research quality for both militaries.
At the academy hall, delegates watched Episodes 4 and 5 of Two Hearts Beat as One. Building on the success of the first three episodes, these two new installments, produced in 2024, are part of a documentary series chronicling 60 years of Vietnam–Cuba defense relations.
|
|
 |
|
The head of the Vietnamese delegation speaks at the meeting with Máximo Gómez Command Academy’s leader. |
|
|
 |
|
Delegates watch the “Two hearts beat as one.” |
General Nguyen Tan Cuong emphasized that the documentary is not only a work of art but also a vivid testament to the rare solidarity and friendship between the Parties, States, militaries, and peoples of Vietnam and Cuba. Every frame vividly portrays the mutual support and empathy shared by the two nations in defending their homelands and building strong national defense capabilities. The documentary enables viewers to truly appreciate the Vietnam–Cuba relationship as a genuine symbol of loyal and pure proletarian internationalism, tempered through war and maintained throughout the joint struggles for national liberation and socialist development.
The general expressed hope that the documentary would be widely screened and promoted to help the people of both nations, especially younger generations, gain a deeper understanding of the special bond between Vietnam and Cuba, and their respective armed forces.
|
|
 |
|
General Cuong writes on the academy’s guestbook. |
|
|
 |
|
The Vietnamese Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Defense Minister hands over a souvenir to the academy. |
It is expected that in 2026, the film crew of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense will closely coordinate with relevant agencies of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces to produce Episode 6, aiming to complete it in time for the 100th birth anniversary of Leader Fidel Castro.
Reported by Ngoc Han (from Havana, Cuba)
Translated by Tran Hoai