Vietnam is ready to act as a bridge to promote relations between Spain and ASEAN.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man affirmed that Vietnam is ready to act as a bridge to promote relations between the Spanish Parliament and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Union.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. (Photo: Doan Tan/VNA)

On the afternoon of April 9, at the National Assembly House, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man met with Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Spain Pedro Sánchez, who is on an official visit to Vietnam from April 8-10.

At the meeting, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man welcomed Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and the Spanish high-ranking delegation on an official visit to Vietnam; emphasized the significance of the first visit to Vietnam by the head of the Spanish Government since the two countries established diplomatic relations; believed that the visit would be an important driving force, opening a new chapter for the "Strategic Partnership towards the Future" between Vietnam and Spain.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man expressed his satisfaction with the good cooperative relationship between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Spanish Parliament through the two sides regularly exchanging delegations, closely coordinating and jointly contributing many initiatives to regional and world parliamentary organizations.

The National Assembly Chairman affirmed that Vietnam is ready to act as a bridge to promote relations between the Spanish Parliament and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Union; and suggested that the two sides maintain regular meetings of the Friendship Parliamentarians’ Groups of the two countries, contributing to promoting cooperation between the two countries’ legislative bodies.

The Spanish Prime Minister expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome of the National Assembly Chairman and the Vietnamese State Leaders for the Delegation; agreed with the assessment of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man on the developments in the Vietnam-Spain “Strategic Partnership Towards the Future” relationship, as well as the upgrading of the bilateral relationship in the coming time.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man meets with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. (Photo: Doan Tan/VNA)

The two sides agreed to effectively implement bilateral cooperation mechanisms, increase delegation exchanges at all levels, as well as between the Committees of the National Assembly of the two countries to exchange information and experience in the fields of legislation and supervision, contributing to enhancing understanding, consolidating political trust, creating favorable conditions to promote cooperation in all fields; continue to fully and effectively implement the Vietnam-European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to take advantage of the opportunities brought by this Agreement, strengthen cooperation in the fields of culture and sports, thereby promoting understanding and exchange between the people of the two countries.

The Spanish Prime Minister emphasized his desire to promote cooperation between the two countries in Spain's strong areas such as infrastructure, railways, automobile industry, renewable energy, etc.; and said that he will soon organize a meeting between the Spanish Government leaders and the Vietnamese community in Spain to listen to the opinions and aspirations of the Vietnamese people in Spain.

The National Assembly Chairman thanked Spain for ratifying the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and asked Spain to urge the remaining EU countries to soon ratify this Agreement, contributing to promoting equal investment cooperation and creating favorable conditions for Spanish enterprises operating in investment and business in Vietnam.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man asked Spain to speak up so that the EC can soon remove the IUU "yellow card" on Vietnam's seafood exports.

The two leaders agreed to continue to strengthen coordination at regional and international inter-parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Francophone Parliamentary Union (APF), etc.; promote multilateralism and respect for international law to address regional and global challenges, especially in the context of rapid and complex changes in the world, including the East Sea issue./.

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