Vietnam-Cuba investment cooperation opportunities

Vietnam-Cuba investment cooperation opportunities
Cập nhật lúc: 08:06 17/07/2012

(VEN) - On the sidelines of the Vietnam-Latin America Trade and
Investment Forum that recently took place in Hanoi, Vietnam Economic
News' Hoa Le spoke with Antonio Caricarrte, the first Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs and External Investment of Cuba, about investment
relations and cooperation possibilities between the two countries.

Leading a delegation to Vietnam, could you say about the significance of
the visit?
We come to Vietnam this time to attend the Vietnam-Latin America Trade
and Investment Forum. This is a good opportunity for Vietnam and Latin
American countries and Cuba in particular to tighten their relations,
especially in the fields of economic cooperation, trade and investment.
Our visit followed the successful Cuba visit by Vietnam Communist Party
Leader Nguyen Phu Trong in April 2012.
What are your views on bilateral cooperation between the two countries
in the recent period?
For 51 years after Vietnam and Cuba established official diplomatic
relations, our two countries have developed a strong, tight and stable
political relationship. The two sides have exchanged high-ranking
delegations on a regular basis.
Along with maintaining a good political relationship with Cuba, Vietnam
has become one of its key trade partners and currently ranks second
among those in the Asia and Oceania region. Since 1999, Vietnam has been
a major rice supplier for Cuba.
Cuba and Vietnam are developing an important cooperation project in the
field of agricultural and food production which is significant for Cuba.
Specifically, Vietnam helps Cuba grow rice, maize and soybean and
develop aquaculture. This project can be considered as a model of
bilateral cooperation for benefit of people of the two countries.
What are the fields where the two countries can boost investment
cooperation in the coming period?
Cuba is currently involved in many cooperation projects in Latin
America, especially Venezuela and countries which are members of the
Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA). Vietnam has
developed many economic fields where it can cooperate with Cuba to take
part in projects in this region. Vietnam can also become a gateway
through which Cuban products can enter the markets of Southeast Asian
countries.
Cuba's advantages in the fields of science, technology and human
resource training have been internationally recognized. I think these
are potential fields of cooperation between Vietnam and Cuba. Mining,
renewable energy, oil and gas are also economic fields where Cuba is
willing to welcome Vietnamese investors.
The presence of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) in
the Gulf of Mexico shows great potential of Vietnam-Cuba cooperation in
the field of oil and gas. What do you expect from bilateral cooperation
in this field?
Vietnam and Cuba currently cooperate in exploiting oil in the Gulf of
Mexico. We have opened the door for lots of foreign businesses to
exploit oil in this gulf, including PetroVietnam.
Regarding bilateral cooperation in this field, we want to highlight the
presence of PetroVietnam which is investing in oil and gas exploration
in the exclusive economic zone of Cuba in the Gulf of Mexico.
We want to cooperate with Vietnam not only in exploiting crude oil but
also in processing natural oil to create oil and gas-related products
and services./.

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