Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son hosted separate receptions for the top diplomats of Cuba, Latvia, Uzbekistan, and the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Myanmar in New York on Sunday (local time).

These receptions were held on the sidelines of the United Nations Summit of the Future and the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in its recent press statement.

During the meeting with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez, Son expressed his gratitude to the Cuban Party, government, and people for extending sympathy to the people of Vietnam and encouraging them to soon overcome the difficult time in the wake of typhoon Yagi, which made landfall in northern Vietnam on September 7, claimed the lives of more than 290 people, and wreaked havoc on 237,000 homes. 

He also thanked Cuba for offering heartfelt condolences over the passing of Vietnam’s Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who passed away at 1:38 pm on July 19 in Hanoi at the age of 80.

Son affirmed that Vietnam attaches great importance to the special relations with Cuba and looks to further foster the ties.

The upcoming state visit to Cuba by Vietnam’s Party chief and State President To Lam is expected to mark another milestone in the trusted and comprehensive partnership between the two countries, Son added.

He emphasized Vietnam’s readiness to expand cooperation with Cuba in various sectors, including healthcare, pharmaceuticals, tourism, agriculture, energy, and construction, as well as to share experience in areas where Cuba has expressed interest.

Cuban Foreign Minister Rodriguez affirmed the special solidarity and friendship between the peoples of Cuba and Vietnam, highlighting that the Cuban Party, government, and people are looking forward to the state visit by General Secretary and State President To Lam.

The two top diplomats agreed to work closely to implement high-level agreements, optimize existing dialogue and cooperation mechanisms, bolster parliamentary and local government ties, enhance people-to-people exchanges, and effectively organize activities to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam - Cuba diplomatic ties in 2025.

While meeting with Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze, Son expressed appreciation for Latvia’s support for Vietnam’s candidacy for the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2023-25 term.

He suggested that Latvia urge the remaining nine EU member states to soon ratify the EU - Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and endorse the European Commission’s removal of the illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing ‘yellow card’ warning imposed on Vietnamese seafood.

The top Latvian diplomat affirmed her support for the timely ratification and implementation of the EVIPA by the remaining EU countries, which would bring benefits to the economic, trade, and investment relations between Vietnam and Latvia.

As for his reception for his Uzbek counterpart Bakhtiyor Saidov, Son affirmed Vietnam’s commitment to strengthening its friendly and multifaceted cooperation with Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan.

The Uzbek foreign minister stated that Vietnam is one of the key partners of Uzbekistan in Southeast Asia, expressing his desire to deepen cooperation in the economic, trade, investment, energy, oil and gas, agriculture, and education sectors.

At his meeting with Julie Bishop, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Myanmar, Son highlighted Vietnam’s willingness to cooperate and support her efforts to find a sustainable and peaceful solution for Myanmar’s people, as well as for peace and stability in the region.

Vietnam hopes for a swift stabilization of the situation in Myanmar and has committed to collaborating with partners and relevant parties to encourage restraint, dialogue, reconciliation, and the implementation of ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus, according to Son.

Bishop praised ASEAN’s central role and acknowledged Vietnam's positive contributions to addressing the Myanmar issue.

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