vietnam cuba rice dec2001
revue de presse asiaco
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HAVANA--Cuba signed an agreement to buy 250,000 metric tons of Vietnamese rice during a week-long visit of Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, the Prensa Latina news agency reported on Dec. 7.
Cuban Vice-President Carlos Lage praised the favorable conditions that the agreement for the purchase of rice has for Cuba, as he bade his Vietnamese counterpart farewell. He also pointed out other possible areas of cooperation between the two nations.
The two parties also signed an agreement for Vietnamese assistance in boosting Cuba's rice production in a ceremony attended by Cuban President Fidel Castro.
The Vietnamese deputy prime minister signed two more cooperation agreements with the island concerning the donation of an assembly line for television sets to export to the Caribbean, and for the introduction of digital television in the country.
Before leaving, Nguyen Tan Dung wished success to the Cuban people in the building of a new society. He expressed his satisfaction about meetings with Cuban leaders, describing them as "very fruitful."
Lage recalled the existence of the historical ties of friendship between Hanoi and Havana, ties that become a reality in the close collaboration between the two governments, and between the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Communist Party of Cuba.
He added that in recent years the economic and commercial exchange has increased.
During his visit Tan Dung and his group toured areas of scientific, cultural, tourist, and historic interest such as the Varadero resort and the Australia Sugar Mill, the rebel army's headquarters during the U.S. invasion of Cuba in April 1961.
The Vietnamese visitor held talks with Lage, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, and Government Minister Ricardo Cabrisas.