Posted on 03/20/2006 5:53:03 PM PST by neverdem
Vietnam’s National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Van An visited Cuba on Friday and met with Cuban Dictator Fidel Castro.
The Vietnamese News Agency said An’s meeting was part of a tour of Latin America. The news agency said during his meeting with Castro in Havana, An admired what he called “Cuba’s remarkable achievements” in view of the “current international situation.”
He also told Castro that Vietnam continues to support “solidarity for the Cuban revolution.”
Vietnam, Cuba and Latin America have great potential for cooperation in agriculture and bio-technology, An said.
Castro reviewed Cuba's situation and discussed energy conservation programs carried out in Cuba while An briefed Castro on Vietnam's preparations for the coming 10th National Party Congress and the results of visits to Venezuela, Argentina and Brazil.
After meeting with Fidel, An met with his brother and right-hand man Raul Castro.
Before meeting with Fidel Castro, An and Cuban Parliamentary Leader Ricardo Alarcon attended the opening ceremony of the Vietnam-Cuba Business Forum hosted by the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Cuba Chamber of Commerce in Havana.
Addressing the forum, An asked businessmen of both countries to seek mutual measures aiming at promoting commercial, trade and investment cooperation which would enhance the two countries' relationship.
Vietnam is now a favored environment for foreign investors including Cuban businessmen, he stressed.
But the Center for a Free Cuba believes the Communist-run island is not a good environment for foreign investors.
“Cuba, cited as one of the worst political and commercial risks in the world by several recently issued country risk guides, lags far behind China and Vietnam in establishing the necessary conditions for economic development and successful corporate involvement. Current foreign investments are small and limited to dollar sectors of the economy such as the tourist industry and mining,” the center said in a statement on its website.
The Center for a Free Cuba also said Cuba has suffered economically because of the Castro government and believes the American economic embargo should continue.
“The reason for Cuba's economic suffering is a Marxist system that discourages incentives. As in Eastern Europe under communism, the failed Communist system is the cause of the economic suffering of the Cubans, not the U.S. embargo,” the center said.
During the Vietnam War, Cuba supported communist-controlled North Vietnam, against America. Cuba provided North Vietnam with financial and technical assistance. Vietnam has donated computers and printers to Cuba as a gesture of gratitude for Cuban support during the Vietnam War, when Cuba sent doctors, medicine and blood to North Vietnam.
Vietnam, in recent years, has been sending rice grants to Cuba, especially during the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba. A Heritage Foundation study finds that trade between the United States and Vietnam has grown since the U.S.-Vietnam trade agreement was signed in 2002.
“Vietnamese total exports have soared by 83 percent, from $14.4 billion to $26.5 billion. Vietnam has also expanded its export markets beyond the U.S. to countries with which it had not traded prior to the U.S. -- Vietnam trade agreement, including several Middle Eastern, Latin American, and African countries,” the Heritage study said.
I wonder if Jimmy Carter was there.
Kind of easy to have energy conservation when most of your people have none in their homes. Commie bastards.
The whole Congressional dimocratic party could have gone and the MSM would have ignored it.
I almost thought this was a mainstream media news article until I got to this line. The "critics charged that" disclaimer only appears in MSM articles about conservatives and Republicans.
This just sounds like a sad joke. It sort of makes you wonder which one had to tell the biggest lie to try and make it appear that THEIR loser nation was really a success.
So basically the US is funding Castro by increasing trade with Vietnam. Well add em to the list I guess...
Vietnam and Cuba do indeed have much in common: an impressive number of boat people.
At one point communism was well on its' way out the door in Vietnam. Must be getting funding from the ChiComs. Way to go, Komrade Klinton.
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A still Communist Vietnam =
Pictures of a vietnamese Re-Education Camp
http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1308949/posts
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I lived in Saigon during the mid 90's. It never ceased to amaze me that even though the U.S. was looking for more and more ways to pump money into VN, the newspapers (100% controlled by the govt) bashed the U.S. unmercifully each and every day. They praised the French who were pure sh*t for VN for 100 years and lavished love on Europe in general and on Russia who most of the VN people hate but the govt loves because Stalin and Lenin came from there, I guess.
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NEVER FORGET
Garry Owen, Freeper neverdem
(7th Cavalry Salute 2-U)
The 7th Cavalry's best...
came back from the 1st Major Battles against Communism of the Vietnam War,
RICK RESCORLA, ..R.I.P.
...to predict ahead of time the...
World Trade Center Bombing-1993
World Trade Center Airstrikes-2001
http://www.RickRescorla.com
http://www.armchairgeneral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24361
NEVER FORGET
.
And the Russians, who never really abandoned Communism.
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