Besides fostering their commercial relations, Cuba and Vietnam joined forces to built the first high-tech industrial park on the island.

Cuba and Vietnam hope to boost bilateral trade in the near future, according to Cuban Minister of Foreign Trade, Rodrigo Malmierca, who made the declaration at the recently concluded meeting of the 36th Cuban-Vietnamese Intergovernmental Commission.

"The aspiration is to reach a commercial exchange of more than US$500 million in the next few years, although for this it is necessary to increase Cuban exports of goods and services," Malmierca stated at Friday's meeting in Havana, which was also attended by Pham Hong Ha, Vietnam's minister of construction

Both ministers were signatories to several agreements that specify protocols signed by President Miguel Diaz-Canel during his recent visit to Vietnam.

"We fully trust that the economic-trade relations between our countries will reach a new level in line with the brotherhood relations that exist between Cuba and Vietnam," Pham Hong Ha declared.

Additionally, the Cuban minister referred to the commencement of Vietnamese investment projects on the island. The Physical Planning Institute of Cuba and its Vietnamese counterpart are expected to begin studies aimed at detecting potential investment areas, in 2019.

Regarding the projects, Malmierca said the works of the first industrial park in Cuba began Wednesday. A Vietnamese corporation is set to build, manage and operate the infrastructure.

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FIrma vietnamita construira primer parque industrial con su dinero y lo administrara y con sus terminos

Cuba hoy — ENID ROMANAT (@enid_romanat) November 29, 2018

"A Vietnamese company starts the construction of Cuba’s first foreign-investment-based industrial park. This industrial district will house companies from different countries and sectors. It will belong to the firmViMariel."

The planned 150-hectares Cuba-based industrial park will be located at a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Mariel Port. The yet-to-be-constructed facility already boasts 41 clients from 28 nations, among which Spain stands out with the largest number of companies.

According to the Cuban Government, US$1.1 billion is to be invested at the Mariel SEZ.