Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets Cuban President and receives World Bank President

* At the meeting with President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel, in a warm and friendly atmosphere, the two sides were pleased that the special traditional friendship, support and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Cuba have been continuously strengthened, promoted and developed extensively. The Prime Minister warmly congratulated Cuba on successfully hosting the G77 Summit on climate change within the framework of the COP28 Conference.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that the Party, State, Government, National Assembly and people of Vietnam always attach importance to, preserve and are determined to further deepen the traditional relationship of solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Cuba, standing side by side in supporting the just revolutionary cause of the Cuban people. The Prime Minister reaffirmed Vietnam's consistent stance against unilateral embargo measures against Cuba.

The Prime Minister respectfully conveyed the greetings of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Vo Van Thuong and the leaders of the Party and State of Vietnam to Comrade Miguel Díaz-Canel and the leaders of the Party and State of Cuba and respectfully invited the leaders of the Party and State of Cuba to visit Vietnam.

President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel sincerely thanked the valuable support of the Government and people of Vietnam, which have always been a very trustworthy friend, always supporting and assisting Cuba to overcome difficulties in socio-economic development due to the impact of the blockade and embargo. President Miguel Díaz-Canel assessed that the Cuba-Vietnam relationship is a beautiful symbol, which was painstakingly cultivated by President Fidel Castro, President Ho Chi Minh and generations of leaders of the two countries through many periods. Comrade Miguel Díaz-Canel highly appreciated and sincerely thanked the leaders of the Party, State and people of Vietnam for their thoughtful reception of the visit to Vietnam by President of the Cuban National Assembly Esteban Lazo (September 2023) on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the event of Leader Fidel Castro visiting the liberated area in Quang Tri.

The two leaders agreed to strengthen coordination of positions and exchanges at multilateral forums, which is a fine tradition between the two countries. The two sides agreed to work more closely to promote economic, investment and trade cooperation, including agricultural cooperation, and ensure food security.

* At the meeting with WB President Ajay Banga, the Prime Minister thanked and appreciated the WB's support and cooperation for Vietnam in the past time, especially in policy advice, financial provision, implementation of many effective projects, and positive contributions to the process of socio-economic development and poverty reduction in Vietnam. The WB President congratulated Vietnam on the extremely positive results in economic development in the past time, and highly appreciated the Government's effective management to achieve these results; emphasized that the WB continues to consider Vietnam an important partner and affirmed that it will continue to accompany and support Vietnam.

To improve the effectiveness of cooperation in the coming time, the Prime Minister and the President of the World Bank agreed to accelerate the progress of existing projects, while promoting large-scale strategic projects with widespread impacts. Some potential new generation projects within the framework of the WB's 5-7 billion USD loan for Vietnam in the next 3 years include the Vietnam Renewable Energy Promotion Project (REACH), the project to plant 1 million hectares of high-yield, low-emission rice, the Hanoi - Hoa Lac high-speed railway project, investment in climate change-adapted infrastructure in the Mekong Delta, and digital transformation and green transformation projects.

At the same time, while the WB is restructuring its global presence, the Prime Minister proposed that the WB establish a regional center with an office in Vietnam, affirming that it will create the best conditions for the regional office to operate projects in Vietnam and other countries in the region. The WB President highly appreciated the Prime Minister's idea, affirming that he will seriously study the establishment of a regional center.

The WB President particularly appreciated the efforts and determination of the Vietnamese Government in green transformation, climate change response and sustainable development, especially the implementation of the project to plant 1 million hectares of high-yield, low-emission rice, considering this a model project of the WB in green agriculture in the world, helping to reduce methane emissions as well as bringing clear financial benefits to people through the carbon credit mechanism.

The WB President also proposed that Vietnam study participating in the global carbon credit market and affirmed his readiness to accompany and support Vietnam in this process, as well as in implementing climate commitments and goals in general.