Lazo’s statements came at a meeting with Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong, to whom he ratified the will to continue to strengthen bilateral ties in all fields of mutual interest and for the benefit of the two peoples.
Lazo, who is also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), expressed satisfaction with the excellent state of political relations and bilateral exchange through regular cooperation mechanisms, and noted that 2023 has been a prolific year in terms of exchanges of delegations and the consolidation of high-level dialogue.
He repeated his deep gratitude for Vietnam’s support for Cuba’s demand for an end of the economic, financial and commercial blockade imposed by successive United States Governments for more than six decades, as well as for the permanent expressions of solidarity received from this Asian nation.
The Vietnamese president, in turn, underscored the significance of the Cuban parliamentary leader’s visit, which is taking place on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the first trip by the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, to Vietnam and the liberated territories of the South.
Van Thuong also appreciated Cuba’s valuable and selfless support for his country, and expressed his support for the Caribbean nation in its process of national construction and development.
Vietnam is willing to share with Cuba the difficulties and challenges caused by the US blockade, natural disasters, and the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, stated the president, who was quoted by the VNA news agency.
Prior to the meeting with the Vietnamese president, Lazo and the delegation accompanying him paid tribute to the hero of Vietnamese independence, Ho Chi Minh, at the mausoleum where his mortal remains rest in this capital.
On his second day of his visit to Vietnam, the president of the Cuban Council of State traveled to the province of Quang Binh, where he visited the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Hospital, in the city of Dong Hoy, which is considered a jewel of special solidarity between the two peoples.
There he met with Cuban doctors who are rendering their services at that institution, one of five works donated by Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro to Vietnam on the occasion of his first visit in September 1973.
Lazo also laid a wreath before the bust of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, on the campus of the property.
On Tuesday, Lazo will chair the events in Quang Tri to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Fidel Castro’s visit, which according to Fidel himself, allowed him to verify Vietnamese people’s indestructible unity, courage, heroism, revolutionary awareness, capacity for sacrifice, and spirit of struggle and work.
jg/ro/mpm
