Attending the event were VUFO Vice President and GeneralSecretary Don Tuan Phong, Permanent Vice Chairman of the VCFA Central CommitteeNguyen Duy Cuong, President of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with Peoples(ICAP) Fernando Gonzalez Llort, Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Lianys TorresRivera, and Cuban hero Antonio Gurrero Rodrigue.
Gonzalez Llort and Gurrero Rodrigue were two out of fiveundercover agents who were detained by the US. The Cuban government then launcheda global campaign calling for their freedom. After serving reduced sentences,they were awarded with hero title upon returning home.
Speaking at the event, Permanent Vice Chairman of the VCFACentral Committee Nguyen Duy Cuong said 2018 marks the 67th anniversary ofMoncada victory (July 26), the 165th birthday of Cuban leader Jose Marti(January 28), the 45th anniversary of Fidel Castro’s visit to Vietnam’ssouthern liberation area and the 55th anniversary of the Cuban Committee ofSolidarity with South Vietnam.
He said the VCFA selected 71 speeches about Vietnam by FidelCastro for translation and publication in Vietnam, which will be sponsored bythe Vietnam News Agency.
The ICAP President expressed his delight at meetingVietnamese friends who previously had a close attachment to Cuba, VCFA membersand those who actively joined Cuba’s revolutionary fight for justice.
He wished that ties between Vietnam and Cuba would betightened in the future.
Hero Rodrigue, for his part, said he always misses and lovesVietnam and its people, and arriving in Vietnam was his wish during detentionin the past. He believed that Vietnam –Cuba ties will be everlasting.
Earlier, VUFO Vice President and General Secretary Don TuanPhong hosted a reception for ICAP President Gonzalez Llort, during which bothsides discussed joint work between the ICAP and the VUFO.
Phong said the two sides will sign a new cooperationagreement in 2019 to extend their relations.
The guest wished to foster bilateral ties via mutual visits andpeople-to-people exchange.-VNA