On the morning of April 9, after holding talks and witnessing the handover ceremony of cooperation documents, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Spain Pedro Sanchez met with the press.
Speaking to the press, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh once again warmly welcomed Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and the high-ranking delegation of the Kingdom of Spain on an official visit to Vietnam.
Towards a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
"This is a very important event, the first visit by the head of the Spanish government to Vietnam since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1977. But this is certainly not the last visit," said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.
He assessed that the visit conveyed a strong message about the determination of the two countries in strengthening, consolidating, and opening a new phase for the friendship and cooperation, towards establishing a comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Spain in the coming time.
The Prime Minister said that the two sides had just had sincere, open, trustworthy, frank and substantive talks, sharing thoughts and visions and determining an action plan to bring the bilateral relationship to a new height, and had in-depth discussions on many cooperation issues in many fields, both bilaterally and multilaterally.
The two sides also shared many development experiences, in which Vietnam can learn many lessons from Spain, one of the most dynamic economies today.
The two sides were pleased to see that the Vietnam-Spain relationship is developing well in all areas; welcomed the impressive growth in bilateral trade and the strong presence of Spanish businesses and investors in Vietnam.
In the 2019-2024 period, bilateral trade turnover will grow by an average of nearly 9% per year. In 2024, bilateral trade turnover will reach 4.72 billion USD, the highest level ever.
The people of the two countries are increasingly understanding and connecting with each other through programs promoting cultural, artistic and tourism exchanges in each country. More and more Spanish tourists are coming to Vietnam and more and more young Vietnamese people are learning Spanish.
The two sides highly agreed on directions to promote bilateral relations in the coming time to consolidate political trust, improve the effectiveness of economic cooperation, deepen cooperation in potential areas such as science - technology, security - defense...; effectively coordinate in responding to global, all-people, comprehensive challenges, for the benefit of the people of the two countries, for peace, cooperation and development of each region and the world.
The Prime Minister said that in that spirit, the two sides have reached high consensus on six specific groups of measures.
Firstly, further strengthen contacts and exchanges of delegations at all levels, through Party, State, Government and National Assembly channels; effectively implement bilateral cooperation mechanisms and agreements signed during the visit in the fields of finance, diplomacy, culture and sports, agriculture and education.
Second, continue to effectively implement the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to create a breakthrough for bilateral trade cooperation between the two countries as well as between Vietnam and the EU; soon hold the first meeting of the Joint Committee on Economic, Trade and Investment Cooperation in 2025. The two sides welcomed the signing of the new Financial Cooperation Program, creating conditions to further improve the effectiveness of investment cooperation in areas of potential, strengths and needs of the two countries.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated the participation of leading Spanish enterprises accompanying him on this visit and believed that the enterprises would have the opportunity to learn about the market and meet with Vietnamese partners, opening up many new prospects for cooperation between the two countries.
Vietnam welcomes Spain as one of the first countries to ratify and hopes that Spain will support the remaining EU countries to soon ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA); and urge the European Commission to soon remove the IUU "Yellow Card" for Vietnamese seafood products.
Third, promote defense and security cooperation on the basis of signed agreements; cooperate in training peacekeeping forces; study and expand cooperation in defense industry, combating terrorism and transnational crime, cooperate in information exchange and training, and improve capacity for law enforcement officers of both sides.
Fourth, promote cooperation in science, technology and innovation, agriculture and fisheries; promote cultural, artistic and sports exchanges, thereby enhancing people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. Vietnam wishes to cooperate with Spain in training high-quality human resources.
Fifth, agree to continue creating favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Spain and the Spanish community in Vietnam living and working in the two countries, making practical contributions to the socio-economic development of the host country and the friendship between the two countries.
Sixth, agree to continue to closely coordinate and support each other at multilateral forums and international organizations, especially at the United Nations, the ASEAN-EU framework, etc.; jointly implement initiatives to promote multilateralism, free trade, respond to climate change, and actively contribute to peace, stability and development in each region and in the world.
Vietnam proposed that Spain act as a bridge to promote relations between Vietnam and the EU and Latin American countries; for its part, Vietnam agreed to act as a bridge to strengthen Spain-ASEAN relations.
Regarding the East Sea, the two sides reaffirmed the importance of ensuring security, safety, freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, and resolving disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Vietnam is an optimistic example to the world.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome and affirmed the hospitality of the Vietnamese side; emphasizing that this first visit by the head of the Spanish Government will be the beginning of upcoming visits.
The Spanish Prime Minister assessed that Vietnam is currently an important country in Asia and is increasingly playing a proactive leading role in the international arena.
In the context of an increasingly complex world situation, the Spanish Government supports the European Union's policy towards Southeast Asia. At the same time, Spain has a foreign policy of strengthening and consolidating relations with countries and dynamic economies such as Vietnam.
He assessed that 50 years after unification, Vietnam has achieved very stable economic growth, especially the growth rate of more than 7% in 2024 is very impressive. He believes that Vietnam will become a high-income country by the middle of this century as the set target; emphasizing that Spain will continue to support and accompany Vietnam.
The Spanish Prime Minister said that this visit contributes to consolidating and strengthening relations between the two countries, especially in three aspects.
Firstly, deepen political and diplomatic relations, aiming to elevate the relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
Second, strengthening trade and investment relations. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he would visit Ho Chi Minh City - an important economic center of Vietnam - and meet with the business community there. Spanish businesses are very interested in expanding their business in Vietnam in important areas such as railway infrastructure. He said Spain is the country with the second longest high-speed rail system in the world today.
He also said he would support about 300 million Euros to help Spanish businesses increase their presence in Vietnam.
Third, Spain will strengthen cooperation with Vietnam in international forums. "Vietnam's strong growth is an optimistic example to the world of the successful implementation of the Millennium Development Goals and sustainable development," the Spanish Prime Minister commented, adding that Spain supports free trade and maintains a world order based on rules.
Spain supports and believes in the success of the 4th Summit of the Partnership for Green Growth and the Global Goals (P4G) hosted by Vietnam in the coming days. At the same time, Spain hopes that Vietnam will support the 4th Summit on Finance for Development (FfD) hosted by Spain.
"I am honored to be the first Spanish Prime Minister to visit Vietnam and open up a new direction of cooperation between the two countries," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez emphasized./.
According to baochinhphu.vn
Source: https://baocamau.vn/thu-tuong-tay-ban-nha-viet-nam-ngay-cang-chu-dong-dan-dat-tren-truong-quoc-te-a38258.html
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