(VNF) - On January 12^th, in Hanoi, Vice President in-charge and General Secretary of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Don Tuan Phong received a delegation from the Cuban Communist Party Central Committee’s Department for External Relations led by its deputy head Juan Carlos Marsan Aguilera.

At the meeting.

At the meeting, Phong has affirmed that VUFO has always showed solidarity with Cuba in every people’s forum in the world.

He also took the occasion to brief Cuban Ambassador on the structures, missions and responsibilities of VUFO, stressing the importance of the relations between VUFO, the Vietnam- Cuba Friendship Association and the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), the Cuba-Vietnam Friendship Association in reinforcing the long-standing treasured relationships of Vietnam and Cuba.

Furthermore, the VUFO Vice President recalled several remarkable events of VUFO in 2017, particularly the visit to Cuba in October, in which leaders of VUFO worked with ICAP, the Cuba-Vietnam Friendship Association and attended the 50^th death anniversary of the hero Che Guevara.

In addition, he shared with his guests activities celebrating historic events in 2018, which the VUFO and the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association will cooperate closely with the Cuban side, such as the 45^th anniversary of Fidel Castro’s historic visit to the southern liberation zone of Vietnam (September 1973-2018) and upcoming visit to Vietnam of ICAP and the Cuba-Vietnam Friendship Association in March, adding that he believes that such activities would contribute to further deepening the exemplary brotherhood, traditional friendship, cooperation and solidarity between the two countries’ people.

VUFO Vice President Don Tuan Phong (R) and Deputy Head of the Cuban Communist Party Central Committee’s Department for External Relations Carlos Marsan.

For his part, Juan Carlos Marsan thanked the VUFO and the Vietnamese people in general for their warm sentiments towards Cuba. He thanked the Vietnamese Party, State and people for the consistent support and solidarity given to Cuba in the past time and the support in overcoming the consequences of storm Irma in September last year.

Briefing his host on Cuba’s situation and its current economic achievements, he said that the Party, Sate and people of Cuba will continue pursuing the goal of building Cuba into a prosperous socialist country.

He said that the sound sentiments between the Vietnamese and Cuban people should be passed on to younger generations, considering it one of the focal tasks of the Communist Party of Cuba in 2018.

Vietnamese firms’ interest in the Cuban market is a favourable condition to boost the economic connection between the two countries and make it match their sound bilateral political relations, he stressed.

During their stay, the Cuban delegation paid tribute to late President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum and laid flowers at the Statue of Jose Marti in Hanoi. They worked with representatives of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, the Communist Review, the Foreign Ministry, and the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee.

They also visited Ho Chi Minh City and Ninh Binh province./.

Chau Pham