Hanoi, September 3 (RHC) -- Vietnam and Cuba are celebrating this month the 45th anniversary of the visit by Fidel Castro to VietNam’s liberated areas in 1973, regarded as a landmark in the bilateral relations between the two countries.

Cuban Ambassador to VietNam Lianys Torres Rivera told the media in Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, that a program of activities has been planned to mark the occasion.

The visit by Fidel to VietNam during the US war there 45 years ago was a historic development, said Ambassador Torres. By marking it now we pay tribute to both Fidel and Ho Chi Minh, the main driver forces in the brotherhood that has existed between our two nations and peoples, she said.

The top Cuban diplomat in VietNam said important milestones in the bilateral relationship continue to take place, like the visit to Cuba this year by the Secretary General of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong, and the visit to Vietnam by Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, the president of Cuba’s labor confederation.

The Ambassador said Cuba and Vietnam have been taking steps to increase mutual trade and investments.