Speech delivered by Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, at the groundbreaking of the Vista Alegre Photovoltaic Park in Mayabeque, on the occasion of the celebrations for the 65th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and Vietnam, on 2 December 2025, «Year 67 of the Revolution»

(Shorthand Versions – Presidency of the Republic)

Dear Comrade Ho Quoc Dung, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and Deputy Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

Comrades members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba;

Comrades from the leadership of the Party, the State, the Government, the Union of Young Communists, the Revolutionary Armed Forces, the Ministry of the Interior and the mass and social organisations;

Honourable members of the Diplomatic Corps;

Vietnamese brothers and sisters accompanying us;

Distinguished guests;

Comrades:

Sixty-five years ago, the document establishing diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Cuba was signed in Hanoi.

That event made the young Cuban Revolutionary Government the first in the Western Hemisphere to establish full relations with Vietnam. Thus began a long history of fraternity, which continues to add pages of solidarity, of full moral identification, as defined by President Ho Chi Minh.

We know that for you these have been days of extraordinary efforts to heal the human and material damages caused by intense rains and floods in central Vietnam. Let our first message, therefore, be one conveying all the solidarity and encouragement of the Cuban Party, Government and people to the noble people of Vietnam; the same we received from you, dear Vietnamese brothers and sisters, after Hurricane Melissa passed through eastern Cuba.

Recalling these years of common history, we inevitably return to the seed, to the Fidel of solidarity who on 2 January 1966 publicly declared the willingness of all to give our very blood for Vietnam, and raised the flag of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam in 1973 during his visit to the liberated territories. And we also return to the venerable Ho Chi Minh, who in every meeting with Cuban delegations, journalists and leaders expressed his affection and admiration for the Cuban Revolution. Those sacred names are the foundation upon which the exemplary friendship of our peoples is erected.

We arrive at this commemoration at the end of what we can justly call the «Year of Vietnam-Cuba Friendship», due to the load of important events for bilateral relations, including the fruitful exchanges between both parties, governments, national assemblies and armies.

Last September, during the most recent visit to Vietnam, we felt the warm affection of a country vibrant with patriotism, pride and national civicism. We will never forget the light and joy of those days of celebration for the 80th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Independence which cost the Vietnamese people so many lives.

In the fraternal meetings with the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, To Lam; with President Luong Cuong; with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and with the President of the National Assembly, Tran Thanh Man, we were able to feel very closely the special sympathy and deference towards Cuba that equally overflowed on every corner and space of the city, where Vietnamese of all ages celebrated their National Day.

In Vietnam, we also celebrated 80 years of the August Revolution, and on 30 April we accompanied that heroic people in its commemorations for the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the South which led to reunification.

The Joint Declaration adopted last 2 September in Hanoi, on strengthening the historic relations of brotherhood and comprehensive cooperation on the 65th Anniversary of bilateral relations, reaffirms the character and strategic projection of bilateral ties.

Today, we are honoured by the visit of our Vietnamese brothers and sisters to commemorate together also the 69th anniversary of the landing of the yacht Granma and the 64th Anniversary of our glorious Revolutionary Armed Forces, confirming the traditions of shared struggles as a distinctive feature of the relationship between Vietnam and Cuba. From here, we express our congratulations, admiration, appreciation and affection to all the combatants of our glorious Revolutionary Armed Forces.

The Defence sector played a pioneering role in the shared history of solidarity, from the hard years of the war, as attested by the monument inaugurated last September at the Hanoi Museum of Military History.

Regular cooperation in Defence is consolidated as a pillar of bilateral relations. In 2025, the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Army Corps General Álvaro López Miera, visited Vietnam on the occasion of the commemorations for the 80th Anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army, and the Head of the Political Directorate of the FAR, Division General Víctor Rojo Ramos, visited in the context of the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of South Vietnam. On the Vietnamese side, we were honoured in June by the visit of the Deputy Minister of National Defence and Chief of Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, Comrade Nguyen Tan Cuong.

To briefly summarise, among the most outstanding events of the bilateral exchange this 2025, were the various activities of the party agenda which included the celebration in Havana of the VI Theoretical Seminar between both political organisations; the II Scientific Conference «Fidel Castro Ruz-Ho Chi Minh: Vision of the Revolution» and the inauguration of the Ho Chi Minh Chair at the Ñico López Party University.

Special mention is deserved by the cooperation between the national assemblies. The President of the National Assembly of People’s Power and of the Council of State, Comrade Esteban Lazo Hernández, led the Cuban official delegation to the second session of the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, held in Hanoi last October.

This 2025, nearing its conclusion, will also be remembered as a fruitful year for economic and cooperation ties, with tangible advances in high-impact economic and social projects such as this photovoltaic park, whose foundation stone we lay today, a fruit of the cooperation and solidarity of the Vietnamese Government.

The presence of Vietnamese companies in Cuba, participating decisively in sectors of the economy, reaffirms what was expressed last September by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh: «For Cuba, we are willing to give all our effort, all our solidarity.»

This generous initiative is a demonstration of that and is part of a plan for the installation of four similar parks, with a total generation capacity of 80 megawatts and storage of 10 megawatts, which will contribute to mitigating the complex situation of the National Electric Power System, severely affected by the impact of the tightening of the economic, commercial and financial blockade that Cuba has suffered for more than six decades.

We thank the Vietnamese Government for the swiftness in materialising this idea, which is a result of the historic visit of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Comrade To Lam, in September 2024. Let this recognition be extended to the Viettel Group, its technicians and managers who are already working rapidly with their Cuban counterparts on installing the capacities at this and other sites in Mayabeque province.

We are also encouraged by the good progress of the pilot rice production projects with the participation of Vietnamese companies, with new management and sustainability approaches, which increase productive yields and confirm Vietnam as a key actor for food security in Cuba.

During our recent visit to Vietnam, I attended the inauguration of a plant for the production of Cuban medicines, stemming from the creation of an unprecedented joint venture in the field of medicine. This initiative seeks to expand the presence of recognised products of Cuban science and biotechnology in Vietnam and in ASEAN countries.

On this occasion, as we symbolically receive the second instalment of the donation promoted by the Vietnamese Red Cross, with the participation of its people and institutions, between the months of August and October, I convey the gratitude of the entire Cuban people for this gesture which allows funds to be allocated to high-impact economic and social sectors such as energy, hydraulics and education.

Having raised the amount projected to be collected over 65 days in just the first 30 hours reaffirms with eloquence the feeling of deep and sincere friendship shared by our peoples.

In various settings and forms, Vietnam has extended its hand of solidarity to Cuba. Its firm voice against the injustice of the economic, commercial and financial siege imposed by the United States Government on Cuba illustrates its foreign policy of well-rooted principles.

Esteemed Comrades:

In a few days, we will bid farewell to the year of the 135th Anniversary of the birth of Ho Chi Minh, to welcome the year of the centenary of the Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz.

We will recall in October 2026 the historic visit of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz to Vietnam, on the 60th anniversary of that event and his memorable meeting with President Ho Chi Minh.

We will celebrate the IX Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba and the XIV Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and, as is tradition, we will exchange experiences on the results of both gatherings and the political and socio-economic projection of each country towards the coming years.

We are fully convinced that Vietnam will achieve new victories on its path with firm steps through the Era of National Ascendancy and towards the goal of becoming a developed nation by 2045, the centenary of its independence.

We will work side by side in 2026 to strengthen brotherhood, not only as a reference for relations between socialist countries, but as a paradigm that, amidst so many threats to peace, continues to remind the world that only solidarity and cooperation among peoples will allow humanity to navigate the colossal current and future challenges.

Thank you, Vietnam, for so much solidarity, generosity, and your example!

May the unbreakable friendship between Vietnam and Cuba live forever! (Exclamations of: «Long live!»)

Long live Ho Chi Minh! (Exclamations of: «Long live!»)

Long live Fidel and Raúl! (Exclamations of: «Long live!»)

Onwards to victory, always!

Thank you very much (Applause).