Ambassador Doan Thanh Song: Spanish Prime Minister's highly anticipated visit to 'foreign investment magnet'

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Brazil, November 2024. (Source: VGP)

From April 8-10, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will pay an official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

Ahead of this important visit, Vietnamese Ambassador to Spain Doan Thanh Song shared with The Gioi Va Viet Nam Newspaper about the significance of the visit as well as the prospects for the Vietnam-Spain Strategic Partnership in the coming time.

Could you please assess the significance of the upcoming visit to Vietnam by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in the context that the two countries have just passed the milestone of celebrating the 5th anniversary of establishing the Strategic Partnership and are looking forward to celebrating the 5th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations in 2027?

Firstly, this is the first official visit to Vietnam by a Spanish Prime Minister since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1977 and is also the first official visit to Vietnam by a high-ranking Spanish State leader after 16 years since the visit of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia in 2006.

The fact that the Spanish Prime Minister chose Vietnam for his longer-than-usual visit shows Spain's respect and desire to promote closer cooperation with Vietnam; at the same time, it affirms our country's increasing position and role in the region and the world.

This is very true as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez recently stated in a social media message that both countries share the “desire to strengthen political, trade and investment relations”.

Ambassador Doan Thanh Song and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at an event in Madrid. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Spain)

Second, the visit is the result of the good cooperative relationship between the two countries on both bilateral and multilateral levels, from politics to economics, trade, investment, culture, defense, security, education-training and transportation...

Political and diplomatic cooperation between the two countries has created a solid foundation for developing the Strategic Partnership. Vietnam and Spain have built a strong relationship, extensive cooperation with mutual trust and understanding through regular delegation exchanges and cooperation at all levels.

Spain was the first European Union (EU) country to establish a strategic partnership with Vietnam and is Vietnam's eighth largest trading partner in the bloc. In turn, Vietnam is Spain's largest trading partner in ASEAN.

Bilateral trade turnover increased steadily from 15% to 20% each year, from 1.2 billion USD in 2010 to 4.7 billion USD in 2024 (exports reached 4 billion USD, imports about 700 million USD).

Third , the visit takes place at a very meaningful time right after the two countries celebrated the 15th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership in 2024 and ahead of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2027.

Therefore, the visit is of great significance in strengthening and promoting diplomatic, economic and trade relations between the two countries; it will create great momentum and impetus for the two countries to continue their efforts to develop the relationship towards new heights, more substantive and effective.

Just before the visit, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez stressed that “Vietnam has become a magnet for foreign investment” and affirmed that “thanks to the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), Spanish companies, leaders in sectors such as infrastructure and renewable energy, will be able to develop important business opportunities in Vietnam”.

This will help orient the interests and priorities of the Spanish people and business community in Vietnam, opening up many other cooperation opportunities.

Accompanying Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez are leaders of nearly 20 leading Spanish corporations in areas of strength that you and we are currently very interested in such as construction of transport infrastructure, high-speed railways, transport system management, smart cities, renewable energy, household appliances... with a dense working program in Vietnam.

The visit will create a boost, thereby promising that economic and trade relations between the two countries in the coming time will have many strong, positive and more dynamic changes.

King Felipe VI of Spain received Ambassador Doan Thanh Song in January 2024. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Spain)

Could the Ambassador outline the outstanding features and prospects of the Vietnam-Spain Strategic Partnership?

Vietnam and Spain established diplomatic relations on May 23, 1977 and upgraded bilateral relations to Strategic Partnership in December 2009.

Over the past 48 years, the friendship and cooperation between the two countries have developed continuously and expanded bilateral cooperation in many fields. Looking forward, it can be seen that the Vietnam-Spain strategic partnership is ready to develop more deeply, strongly and comprehensively.

Firstly, the leaders of Vietnam and Spain are determined and committed to developing the Strategic Partnership in a strong, effective and substantive manner in many areas. In particular, innovation, digital transformation, infrastructure and sustainable development will be the highlights of the relationship in the coming time.

Second, a very prominent point that creates a premise for deeper development of the Strategic Partnership between the two countries is the love of the Spanish people for the country and people of Vietnam.

As Queen Sofia told President Nguyen Minh Triet in 2009: “My family loves Vietnam with all our hearts”, from a distant country, today Vietnam has become the destination of more than 85,000 Spanish tourists in 2024.

Vietnamese culture, cuisine and art are warmly welcomed by the Spanish people. Currently, there are about 1,000 Vietnamese children adopted by Spanish families, who have integrated well into the local community and still retain their national cultural identity.

Third, Vietnam and Spain are at a stage where they share the most common interests ever to deepen their Strategic Partnership. Both are looking to seek, expand and develop new markets and partners.

Spain has an important position and influence not only in Europe, especially in the southern part of the Old Continent, but also in Spanish-speaking countries, Latin America and North Africa, and is a strategic connection point between these regions. Strengthening relations with Spain will also help us expand cooperation, role and prestige in these regions.

Recently, Spain has not only focused on Latin America and Spanish-speaking countries but has also paid more and more attention to business cooperation opportunities in Asia, in which Vietnam is considered an increasingly attractive destination.

In the Strategic Vision for Asia adopted by the Spanish Government in 2018, it was emphasized that a strong presence in Asia is a constant goal for Spain in the coming period. The 2021 Diplomatic Action Strategy continues to affirm that ASEAN will be one of Spain's main partners in the region.

As the first country to ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), Spain increasingly sees Vietnam as a promising market for its businesses. The newly established Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi is a vivid example of the determination of the Spanish side to strengthen economic relations with Vietnam.

In addition, the prospect of developing the Strategic Partnership between the two countries is also reinforced by the fact that the Spanish economy has many complementary and supportive features to the Vietnamese economy. Spain is the 4th largest economy in the EU, 14th in the world and is the fastest growing developing country in the world in 2024 with a GDP growth of 3.2%, nearly 5 times the average of the Eurozone.

Spain has many key economic strengths that Vietnam is looking to develop. This European country has advanced transport infrastructure with the second largest high-speed rail network in the world and competitive average costs of building high-speed trains.

With its abundant wind and solar resources, Spain is also leading the continent in renewable energy deployment. Spain is now accelerating its move towards a coal-free electricity sector, with plans to phase out coal by 2025 – five years ahead of schedule – and is on track to generate more than half of its energy from renewable sources. The EU’s largest hydrogen plant is also located in Puertollano, Ciudad Real, Spain.

As the second largest producer of fruit and vegetables in the EU and the sixth largest globally, Spain also has a world-leading food processing industry. Spain's agri-food industry is the country's leading industry and is industrialized, large-scale and modernized.

Ambassador Doan Thanh Song and the Vietnamese delegation participated in the FITUR 2025 International Tourism Exhibition, January 2025. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Spain)

According to the Ambassador, what should Vietnam and Spain do to create a breakthrough for this future-oriented strategic partnership with great potential?

Firstly , in the context of the world situation with many profound and uncertain changes, increasing exchanges and delegations, especially high-level delegations like this visit, is extremely necessary to enhance political trust and understanding between the two countries, expanding relations not only in politics but also in economics, culture and society.

Immediately after the news of the visit, many major Spanish newspapers asked to interview me about the country and people of Vietnam, about the opportunities and prospects for cooperation between the two countries. The visit was truly a big boost to develop this relationship substantially.

Second , the Government and ministries and branches need to consider amending or signing new documents, creating a legal framework and favorable conditions for promoting cooperation between the two countries in potential, strong and complementary areas such as infrastructure, high-speed railway infrastructure, traffic system management, modern machinery and equipment engineering, defense industry, renewable energy, digital transformation, green technology, etc.

Third , Vietnamese airlines should soon study and open direct flights between the two countries. Currently, there is no direct flight from Vietnam to Southern Europe. Meanwhile, the number of Spanish tourists visiting Vietnam every year has exceeded that of tourists from the UK...

Opening a direct flight route between the two countries will not only attract Spanish tourists but also tourists from Latin American and African countries who consider Spain as a gateway to Europe and Asia. This will also contribute significantly to promoting economic, social and political exchanges between Vietnam and Spain, Europe, Latin America and Africa.

Fourth, promote cooperation in education and training, especially in Spanish, and promote the exchange of experts and training of engineers in fields in which you have strengths and we are interested.

Fifth, strengthen promotional activities and tourism promotion to reach the Spanish market. Spain's prominence in the global tourism industry is demonstrated by the presence of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) headquarters in Madrid and the organization of annual international tourism fairs such as FITUR... Accordingly, we should consider sending representatives to participate in the World Tourism Organization and better coordinate the organization of tourism promotion events in the area.

Sixth , it is necessary to strengthen business connections between the two countries in various ways to maximize the strengths of each side, especially calling on large Spanish enterprises and corporations to invest and expand production and business in Vietnam.

Thank you very much Ambassador!

Ambassador Doan Thanh Song visits one of Spain's first four factories producing green hydrogen. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in Spain)

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/dai-su-doan-thanh-song-chuyen-tham-day-ky-vong-cua-thu-tuong-tay-ban-nha-toi-nam-cham-thu-attract-dau-tu-nuoc-ngoai-309942.html