(VNF) - The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) and the Central Committee of the Vietnam – Cuba Friendship Association (VCFA) co-organised the Vietnam – Cuba friendship exchange in Hanoi on April 10^th.

At the friendship exchange in the headquarters of VUFO.

Attending the event were VUFO Vice President in-charge and General Secretary Don Tuan Phong; Permanent Vice Chairman of the VCFA Central Committee Nguyen Duy Cuong; President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with Peoples (ICAP), Cuban hero Fernando Gonzalez Llort; Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Lianys Torres Rivera; and Cuban hero Antonio Guerrero Rodriguez.

Fernando and Antonio were two out of five undercover agents who were once detained by the U.S. The Cuban government then launched a global campaign calling for their freedom. After serving reduced sentences, they were awarded with hero title upon returning home.

Speaking at the event, Permanent Vice Chairman of the VCFA Central Committee Nguyen Duy Cuong said 2018 marks the 67^th anniversary of Moncada victory (July 26^th), the 165^th birthday of Cuban leader Jose Marti (January 28^th), the 45^th anniversary of Fidel Castro’s visit to Vietnam’s southern liberation area and the 55^th anniversary of the Cuban Committee of Solidarity with South Vietnam.

He said the VCFA selected 71 out of 95 speeches about Vietnam by Fidel Castro for translation and publication in Vietnam, which will be sponsored by the Vietnam News Agency.

He also stressed that in the future, VCFA will continue organise perse activities to reinforce and boost the Vietnam-Cuba friendship and educate younger generations on the ties.

President of the club of Vietnamese alumni once studied in Cuba Tran Thanh Dong.

Speaking at the meeting, on behalf of the club of Vietnamese alumni once studied in Cuba, President Tran Thanh Dong said that, from the early years of the Cuban Revolution, the country had received and trained more than 1,000 undergraduates and graduates, who then went on to become key officials of Vietnam, over one decade before Vietnam was victorious in the resistance war against the U.S.

Since 1961, Cuba had received the first group of Vietnamese students and then thousands of students in various fields. In 1967, almost 500 Vietnamese youths went to study in Cuba, including the very first female students.

Dong stressed that Vietnamese students would never forget the Cuban people's sincere and affection for the Vietnamese people.

Fidel Castro was the first foreign leader to visit the newly-liberated area in the central province of Quang Tri in September 1973. He was also a country leader who took the lead in international movements to support Vietnam’s struggle for national independence and reunification, along with national development and defence.

Senior Colonel Tran Ngoc Dan, Director of the External Relations Department of the Vietnam Veterans Association, a Vietnamese alumni once studied in Cuba.

The image of the Cuban commander-in-chief, in his olive uniform, standing in an enemy’s blockhouse raising the flag of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, became an extremely impressive image and a source of encouragement to Vietnamese people, said Director of the External Relations Department of the Vietnam Veterans Association, Senior Colonel Tran Ngoc Dan.

ICAP President Fernando expressed his delight at meeting Vietnamese friends who previously had a close attachment to Cuba, VCFA members and those who actively joined Cuba’s revolutionary fight for justice.

He also thanked Vietnamese friends, including VUFO and VCFA, for their efforts to get the U.S. to lift the trade embargo on Cuba and release their five soldiers, included him and Antonio.

He wished that ties between Vietnam and Cuba would be tightened in the future.

Cuban hero Antonio Guerrero Rodriguez (third from left).

Hero Antonio, for his part, said he always misses and loves Vietnam and its people, and arriving in Vietnam was his wish during detention in the past. He believed that Vietnam – Cuba ties will be everlasting.

Earlier, VUFO Vice President in-charge and General Secretary Don Tuan Phong hosted a reception for ICAP President Gonzalez Llort, during which both sides discussed joint work between ICAP and VUFO.

Two sides will sign a new cooperation agreement in 2019 to extend their relations and foster bilateral ties via mutual visits and people-to-people exchange./.

Chau Pham