Vietnam attaches great importance to strengthening traditional friendship and cooperation with Cuba, PM Nguyen Tan Dung has said. Vietnam wants to boost agricultural cooperation with Cuba, Dung told Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz at a reception in Hanoi on September 18. He proposed Cuba create favourable conditions for Vietnamese companies to do long-term business in the country. He said Vietnam will organise a meeting and activities on September 19-20 to mark 40 years of Cuban President Fidel Castro’s historic visit to Quang Tri province during Vietnamese people’s resistance war against US aggression. Fidel’s visit to the newly liberated land created a source of encouragement for Vietnamese people and army in their struggle for national liberation and unification, Dung said. Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz noted with satisfaction the fine development of bilateral relations in recent times, and said Cuba wants to increase cooperation with Vietnam in all areas, primarily in economics, trade and investment. He expressed his hope Cuba will learn from Vietnam’s development experience, especially its socio-economic development models. He also assured Dung that Cuba facilitates Vietnamese business operations in the country to raise two-way trade to a new level. Diaz handed over President Fidel’s letter recalling his historic visit to Quang Tri province 40 years ago. VOV