On October 19th, 2018, at the headquarters of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Governor Le Minh Hung had a meeting with Mr. Antonio Carricarte Corona, First Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment of Cuba.
Also attending the meeting were representatives from the SBV’s International Cooperation Department, the Foreign Exchange Management Department, the Banking Supervision Agency and the SBV Office. Other representatives from Cuba delegation were Mrs. Lianys Torres Rivera - Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to Vietnam, and other officers from the Embassy of Cuba.
At the meeting, SBV Governor Le Minh Hung warmly welcomed the working visit of Deputy Minister Antonio Carricarte Corona to the SBV and believed that the working visit of the Cuban delegation would be an important contribution to further promoting the comprehensive cooperation relationship between Vietnam and Cuba in many fields, especially in finance and banking. He emphasized that Vietnam is very impressed with the achievements that Cuba has obtained in socio- economic development and hoped for further cooperation and experience sharing in all fields.
For his part, the Cuban First Deputy Minister briefed the hosts of the economic situation in Cuba and asserted that Cuba always highly appreciates the support of Vietnam in the process of implementing its medium-term socio-economic development plan, with vision to 2030. At the same time, Deputy Minister Antonio Carricarte Corona also shared that all of the agreements signed by the two countries have been greatly contributing to helping Cuba implement effectively that Plan, and defining the directions for the cooperation between the two sides in the coming time.
SBV Governor Le Minh Hung speaks at the meeting
SBV Governor Le Minh Hung affirmed that, in the context of Cuba's policy of transforming its economic model, the Government of Vietnam in general and the SBV in particular are willing to share their experience and support Cuban Government's efforts to reform the economy and attract foreign investment. Vietnamese investors have also expressed their desire to invest in the Cuban market in areas where Vietnam has strengths and advantages, and hopefully the investment activities between the two countries will achieve positive results in the coming time.
In the spirit of traditional friendship and cooperation between the two countries, the SBV has established a cooperative relationship with the Central Bank of Cuba and has carried out cooperation activities in the areas of monetary policy management and banking system management. The SBV has sent several experts to assist and train the officers of the Central Bank of Cuba, and has welcomed Cuban officials to Vietnam to pursue study and do surveys in the specific fields of banking. Recently, the bilateral professional exchanges often focus on the experience in monetary reforms, exchange rates management, and Vietnam’s experience in attracting foreign investment since the Doi Moi period. The SBV is willing to continue the experience sharing and support the relevant Cuban agencies in these areas.
In 2015, the SBV and the Central Bank of Cuba signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Information Exchange in Banking Supervision, in order to enhance the bilateral cooperation and information sharing between the two central banks and to create the foundation for the commercial banks of the two countries when they plan to do business in either Vietnam or Cuba. The SBV has also been encouraging Vietnamese commercial banks to promote the establishment of agency relationships with Cuban partners to support international payments, trade finance and investment transfers, helping to promote trade and investment between the two countries.
In order to further facilitate the cooperation between the agencies, the enterprises and the banks of the two countries, the two sides agreed to consider to establish a mechanism to periodically share and update information in order to enhance the mutual understanding of the legal frameworks, the management points of view and the market situations in both countries.
In concluding the meeting, SBV Governor Le Minh Hung and Deputy Minister Antonio Carricarte Corona affirmed that the two sides will continue to work closely and assist each other in the socio-economic development efforts of each country, and believed that the relationship between Vietnam and Cuba will continue to develop strongly in the coming time.
VA