Hanoi - Vietnam and Cuba worked hard to explore new business opportunities as they celebrated Tuesday in Hanoi with large delegations the 8th Session of their Business Committee.

The sides also held a seminar on trade and investment in Cuba and had contacts at the level of counterpart companies, regardless of what progress they make in this regard during the upcoming Vietnam International Trade Fair.

Speakers at the opening of the Business Committee agreed that bilateral economic ties still hold great potential and reiterated the willingness to position them at the same level of political relations between both nations.

The Cuban ambassador in Hanoi, Lianys Torres, said that her country is making progress in the realization of business in prioritized sectors such as energy, infrastructure, tourism and agrifood industry.

The Cuban government reiterates guarantees and security to foreign investors and continues to reform the legal mechanisms that optimize the investment process, she said.

At the same time, the Secretary General of the Cuban Chamber of Commerce, Omar Fernandez, praised Vietnam's sustained positioning as the second largest economic partner of Cuba in Asia and its rise as an important investor with companies such as Thai Binh, Viglacera, Hanel and Thin Thanh.

We know the potential to develop bilateral links in health, biotechnology, sports, tourism and culture, but there are also in sectors such as agrifood, agriculture, construction, information technology, communications and industry in general, he remarked.

Cuba's Chamber of Commerce will continue to support the participation of Vietnamese companies in business with our country and the sending of business missions to Vietnam, both to fairs and exhibitions and in other visits by Cuban businessmen interested in this market, he added.

Doan Duy Khuong, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, recalled that from 2013 to 2018 bilateral trade more than doubled from 142 to 336 million dollars, and estimated it could be raised to 500 million in the short term.

Khuong also spoke out in favor of increased investment by one country in the other and increased cooperation relations in general.

Speakers also agreed that bilateral ties enjoyed a significant boost after the visit to Cuba of the Secretary General of the Communist Party of Vietnam (and current President), Nguyen Phu Trong, and the visit made in Hanoi by President Miguel Diaz-Canel (March and November 2018, respectively).