(credit: vietnamnet.vn)  Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam  Lianys Torres Rivera is expected to be Havana’s Ambassador to the US in Washington DC beginning  January 2021 when the new American President Joe Biden takes office. 

By Gary Raynaldo   DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

Cuba’s top diplomat in the United States José Ramón Cabañas Rodríguez is going back home after a 5-year-long tour of duty as Havana’s Ambassador in Washington DC.  The Embassy of the Republic of Cuba announced that Ambassador Cabañas Rodríguez’ last day as US envoy was December 21.  Rodriguez will be replaced by Lianys Torres Rivera, Cuba’s current ambassador to Vietnam.  Torres will be the first woman ever to head Cuba’s mission in Washington. Cabañas Rodríguez, who had been the chief of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington since 2012, presented his credentials as Cuba’s first ambassador to the United States in more than 50 years to President Barack Obama on Sept. 17, 2015. Washington and Havana re-established diplomatic ties after a 54-year absence.  His appointment to the post came two months after a restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries, which had ended during Cold War hostilities in 1961.  The Cuban Embassy letter also confirmed that the Director Rodney A. González Maestrey will serve as Charge d’Affaires ad interim until the arrival of the new Chief of Mission, Hon. Lianys Torres Rivera.

The Embassy of the Republic of #Cuba informs that H.E. @JoseRCabanas completed his tour of duty as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotenciary of the Republic of Cuba to the #UnitedStates of America on Monday, December 21st, 2020. pic.twitter.com/bp5g6PaAm0

— Cuban Embassy in US (@EmbaCubaUS) December 21, 2020

Ambassador Torres Rivera Concludes her assignment as Cuba’s Ambassador to Vietnam

HANOI, Vietnam.  Dec. 26, 2017 –  Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) receives new Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Lianys Torres Rivera (Photo: VGP)   

Vietnam and Cuba Have Shared Special friendship, solidarity and mutual trust the past 60 Years

“Vietnam and Cuba have enjoyed a special friendship, solidarity and mutual trust in the past six decades, said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on December 1, 2020, at a ceremony marking 60 years of diplomatic relations. Vietnam has increased its investments in Cuba in such fields as industry, defence, security, agriculture, and health care.

“Over the past 60 years, the brotherly solidarity between Vietnam and Cuba has become a prime example of international relations. The special brotherhood has been forged by extremely difficult circumstances. Cuba was the first nation to form a Committee for Solidarity with South Vietnam, the first country in Latin America to have established diplomatic ties with Vietnam and also the first in the Western hemisphere to receive Vietnamese students. The relationship between Cuba and Vietnam was shaped by the historical mark of the leaders from the two countries. Cuban leader Fidel Castro and President Ho Chi Minh laid the foundation for the special friendship between the two peoples.”

-Cuba Ambassador to Vietnam Lianys Torres Rivera said Dec. 2, 2020 ceremony marking Six Decades diplomatic relations Cuba/Vietnam 

The Việt Nam-Cuba Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed during Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s visit to Việt Nam in 2018 had started to take effect in April, contributing to the promotion of trade between the two countries, according to Ambassador Torres Rivera. The agreement allows expansions and diversification of bilateral trade, facilitates import and export of goods, and makes it easier for the two countries’ products to penetrate each other’s markets. It is expected that bilateral trade will reach US$500 million by 2025.    Cuba also dispatched its medical experts to help Vietnam contain COVID-19 when the pandemic broke out in the central city of Da Nang.  Vietnam, in turn, sent three tons of medical supplies to Cuba including corona virus test kits, medicine, medical masks, and protective suits to help the country’s COVID-19 campaign. 

Ambassador  Sees Hope Rebuilding Cuba-US Relations in New Joe Biden Administration 

(credit:White House)  José Ramón Cabañas Rodríguez, Cuba Ambassador to US,  with President Obama in  September 2015 at White House after presenting diplomatic credentials 

“The Cuban ambassador’s accreditation to the United States is a further step within the process to normalize relations between both countries,”  the Cuban Embassy in Washington said in a statement  Sept. 17, 2015 when Cabañas Rodríguez became Havana’s first ambassador to the United States in more than 50 years.

“Now, after the outcome of the last elections in the United States there is new hope among Americans in terms of a new kind of relationship can be built with Cuba. You have heard the statement from president in that regard we feel that the American people have a sense that this is an opportunity for change and we have to say that we remain open to any kind of talks or conversations if we respect the principles of mutual respect and reciprocity. Those are the two keys for any future relationship between Cuba and the United States with the upcoming president or any other administration into the future.”

José Ramón Cabañas Rodríguez, Cuba Ambassador to US in remarks during conference for US-Cuba Normalization Nov. 27, 2020