Hanoi, November 29 (RHC-Granma)-- Vietnam has donated 5,000 tons of rice to Cuba in order to help compensate for the damage caused by Hurricane Irma.

According to Prensa Latina news agency, the symbolic handover ceremony was held in the northern port city of Haiphong, the same site where during its liberation war, the country received sugar and other supplies from Cuba in a gesture of solidarity with nothing expected in return.
Officials said that the Vietnamese people have not forgotten Cuba’s support and, following the destruction of Hurricane Irma across the island, they have once again extended a helping hand.

The donation has the additional merit of being offered at a time when Vietnam itself is recovering from recent typhoons and floods that have caused great human and material losses.

The ceremony was attended by the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment of Cuba, Antonio Carricarte; the island’s Ambassador to Vietnam, Lianys Torres; Deputy Director General of the Vietnamese General Department of State Reserves, Le Van Thoi; and authorities of the Haiphong People’s Committee.