Havana, December 1 (RHC)-- Cuba and Vietnam hope to boost bilateral trade in the near future, according to Cuban Minister of Foreign Investment and Trade, Rodrigo Malmierca, who made the remarks at Friday's closing session of the 36th Cuban-Vietnamese Intergovernmental Commission.

"We hope to reach a commercial exchange of more than $500 million in the next few years, although to achieve this we need to increase Cuban exports of goods and services to the Asian country," Malmierca stated at the meeting in Havana, which was also attended by Pham Hong Ha, Vietnam's minister of construction.

Both ministers were signatories to several agreements that give continuity to protocols signed by President Miguel Diaz-Canel during his recent visit to Vietnam.  "We are convinced that the economic-trade relations between our two countries will reach a new level in line with the brotherhood relations that exist between Cuba and Vietnam," Pham Hong Ha stated. 

Additionally, Malmierca pointed to Vietnamese investment projects on the island. The Cuban minister recalled that contruction works on the first industrial park in Cuba began this past Wednesday at the Mariel Special Development Zone. 

The Vietnamese corporation ViMariel is set to build, manage and operate the infrastructure, which will house companies from different countries and sectors. 

The yet-to-be-built facility already boasts 41 clients from 28 nations, among which Spain stands out with the largest number of companies.