Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang attended the 52nd regular session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on February 27-28. (Photo: WVR)

Ambassador Hai said it is the highest-level visit to Spain by a Vietnamese Government leader since 2017 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the visit, both sides will review bilateral relationship over the past years and reach consensus on specific measures to tackle obstacles as well as discuss new cooperation mechanisms in priority areas such as basic infrastructure, green energy, climate change response and water resource management, toward carrying forward bilateral strategic partnership in the near future, the Ambassador said.

According to him, friendly cooperation between Vietnam and Spain has kept improving over the past 46 years. Spain was the first European Union country to establish strategic partnership with Vietnam in December 2009. Vietnam has become the biggest ASEAN trade partner of Spain with over 3 billion USD on average each year. Last year alone, Vietnam’s exports to Spain surpassed 4 billion EUR (4.2 billion USD) while importing more than 525 million EUR from the European country. However, Spain’s investment in Vietnam remains modest, with 88 projects worth over 143 million USD.

Deputy PM’s visit to Spain holds important significance: Vietnamese Ambassador to Spain Hoang Xuan Hai. (Photo: Embassy of Vietnam to Spain)

The Ambassador expressed his hope that with the validity of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and the approval of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement in late January 2022, the two countries’ firms will tap benefits brought about by the two deals to turn economic ties into a solid pillar in their relationship.

In his view, the two Governments, ministries and agencies should consider amending or signing new agreements to create a legal framework for bilateral ties, particularly in the fields of their strength such as infrastructure, renewable energy, digital transformation, green technology, climate change response, hi-tech agriculture, health care, education-training, culture, sports and tourism.

In the immediate future, both sides should soon resume and launch several important cooperation mechanisms such as deputy ministerial-level political consultations and the first meeting of the Bilateral Cooperation Committee for Trade and Investment, thus reaching consensus on measures and roadmaps to lift bilateral ties, the Ambassador said.