A meeting between Vietnamese alumni, celebrating the 50^th anniversary and 55^th anniversary of their first day in Cuba in 1968 and 1963, took place in Hanoi on October 20.

A meeting between 200 Vietnamese alumni. (Photos: VCFA)

The event co-organised by the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association (VCFA) and the club of Vietnamese alumni in Cuba. Nearly 200 alumni from all over the country presenting in the gather recalled their meaningful time on Freedom Island in the Western Hemisphere, the Second Fatherland of All. For them, despite age differences, Cuba is always in their minds.

Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam, Lianys Torres Rivera and representatives of the Cuban, also attended the meeting.

Since 1961, Cuba had received the first group of Vietnamese students and then thousands of students in the fields of diplomacy, architecture, construction, medicine, pharmacy and radio who then became key officials of Vietnam in over one decade before Vietnam’s resistance war against the U.S. gained victory.

Over the past half century, the sentiments of the Cuban people have always existed in Vietnamese alumni’s hearts, the same as the their first days in the Caribbean country.

The alumni recalled the time he spent in Cuba, stressing that Vietnamese students who studied in Cuba will always remember the warm sentiments they received from Cuban people.

They also wished Cuba success in the process of updating its economic model and reiterated its confidence that the ties between the two nations would continue to expand.

Despite the long geographical distance, Vietnamese and Cuban people will always stand side by side.

Vietnamese alumni asserted their strong opposition to the U.S.’s unilateral economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba by holding the messege #NoMásBloqueo #UnblockCuba.

They expressed their belief that maintaining the embargo against Cuba is inappropriate and should be shortly removed to totally meet the legitimate aspirations and interests of Cuban and U.S. citizens, contributing to the development as well as the maintenance of peace and stability in the Americas.

On Octber 31, Havana will present for the 27^th time before the U.N. General Assembly a non-binding resolution condemning the unilateral policy.

In 2017, only the United States and Israel opposed the Cuban initiative, while 191 countries condemned Washington's policy towards the Caribbean nation.

The Obama administration ended more than 50 years of diplomatic isolation with its Cold War foe in December 2014. The historic move re-established embassies in Havana and Washington, made it easier for Americans to visit the long-isolated island and was punctuated by a personal visit to Havana where President Barack Obama met several times with Cuban President Raúl Castro.

However, in 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump tighten rules affecting travel and on sending funds to the Caribbean island nation.

In its annual report to the United Nations, Havana indicated that economic losses due to the U.S. blockade totaled over USD 4.3 billion between April 2017 and March this year, a policy that has been reinforced during Trump's administration./.

VNF