In the meeting with the Vietnamese guest, Minister of Culture Alpidio Alonso Grau expressed his joy at the success of the special cultural and artistic programme jointly staged by the two sides at Jose Marti Theatre in Havana on April 20 to celebrate several major anniversaries of historic milestones in Vietnam-Cuba relations.
The two ministries agreed that the two sides have coordinated to organize successful cultural exchange programmes on the occasion of visits of high-ranking leaders of the two countries.
The Cuban minister informed Minister Hung that Cuba will host a forum of culture ministers of the G-77 plus China from May 3-5, aiming to adopt a joint statement affirming the role and contribution of culture to sustainable development. He invited the Vietnamese minister to attend the event and contribute to the compilation of the joint statement, considering Vietnam’s achievements in conserving and promoting cultural values.
Minister Hung spoke highly of Cuba’s Presidency of the G77 and affirmed support of Cuba’s efforts to prepare for the important forum. He accepted the invitation to attend the forum and planned to deliver an important speech in the online format.
Hung welcomed Cuba’s policy to develop cultural industries and suggested that Cuba consider develop performance products for export. He said his ministry is willing to provide information to and connect firms that are interested in investing in this aspect.
The two ministers also discussed other cooperation possibilities, including Vietnam’s support for Cuba in researching the production of musical equipment, the translation of Vietnamese books and documents on arts and culture to introduce to Cuban people, sharing experience in State management of culture, and the organisation of cultural exchange programmes.
During the talks on tourism, Minister Juan Carlos García Granda said Cuba defines tourism as one of the key industries and wants to expand cooperation with Vietnam and other partners to develop tourism. He called for Vietnamese investment into specific projects and programmes to develop accommodation facilities and tourism products and services, stressing that Cuba hopes Vietnam will become one of important source markets of tourism of Cuba.
The minister invited the Vietnamese minister to attend the International Tourism Fair which Cuba will host in May in the framework of the year Cuba chairs the G77 group.
Minister Hung proposed that the Cuban side send the list of its 106 tourism projects calling for investment to the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism so that the ministry can provide information to Vietnamese firms.
He said the upcoming visit to Vietnam by Minister Juan Carlos García Granda will be an opportunity for the two sides to hold a tourism forum and an investment promotion conference, during which firms and partners of both sides can reach and sign specific cooperation deals.
