Vietnamese and Cuban presidents meet in Havana

Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc held talks with Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel on Sunday, a day after Vietnam said it would start using a Cuban COVID-19 vaccine. The Vietnamese leader arrived in Havana on Saturday, just hours after health authorities in Vietnam approved the use of Abdala in their fight against the coronavirus.

The vaccine is developed by Cuba's Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. Vietnam currently has seen an increase in COVID-19 cases and has just over 6.5% of the population fully vaccinated, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Local media reported that Nguyen Xuan Phuc will place an offering in the mausoleum of the late leader Fidel Castro, in the city of Santiago.

He will also participate in business exchanges in relation to the Port of Mariel, where there is a Free Zone that the Cuban authorities are promoting. Cuba is the only Latin American nation with its own vaccines against COVID-19 and is developing a massive vaccination campaign in its population amid an outbreak. It expects to have 90% of its population immunized by November. Cuban authorities are currently working with the World Health Organization to obtain their endorsement. The Vietnamese President is scheduled to leave Cuba on Monday.