Hanoi, Vietnam.- Cuba”s President, Raul Castro, today congratulated the Vietnamese Communist Party, government and people on the occasion of the 71st anniversary of the proclamation of independence of the nation.

‘I take this happy occasion to affirm the firm will to continue working towards strengthening and deepening the ties of friendship and cooperation between our countries,’ the Cuban president said in a message addressed to Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of that political organization, President Tran Dai Quang and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez, also congratulated Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Pham Binh Minh, for the independence anniversary. Rodriguez reiterated the will of his country to continue deepening historic ties of friendship with Vietnam, in a letter released to the press.