This is the first time the Spanish Prime Minister has officially visited Vietnam since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1977 and also an official visit to Vietnam by the Spanish senior leaders after 19 years from the visit of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia in 2006.
This shows Spain's respect and desire to promote closer cooperation with Vietnam, while affirming Vietnam's increasingly increasing position and role in the region and the world.
The visit is expected to create a boost, thereby promising that economic and trade relations between the two countries in the coming time will have many stronger, more positive and dynamic changes.
Vietnam and Spain established diplomatic relations on May 23, 1977, and established a strategic partnership framework towards the future in December 2009. Spain is Vietnam's first Strategic partner in the European Union (EU).
Spain is currently Vietnam's 5th largest trading partner in the EU and Vietnam is Spain's largest trading partner in ASEAN.
In the period of 2019-2024, bilateral trade turnover maintained a good growth rate, at an average rate of 8.7%/year. The import-export structure between Vietnam and Spain is complementary, not in direct competition. Of these, Vietnam mainly exports to Spain: textiles, steel, shoes, phones and components, coffee, machinery and spare parts, computers and electronic products and imports from Spain of products: pharmaceuticals, machinery and spare parts, chemical products, raw material flexible materials, animal feed. The two sides effectively implement the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), effective from August 2020. Spain is also a country that ratified the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) in January 2022.
VNA said that according to Vietnamese Ambassador to Spain Doan Thanh Song, the first country to ratify the EVIPA Agreement, Spain is increasingly considering Vietnam as a promising market for businesses in this country. The newly established Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Hanoi is a vivid example of Spain's determination to strengthen economic relations with Vietnam.
Assessing the prospects for cooperation between the two countries, Ambassador Doan Thanh Song emphasized that the Spanish economy has many complementary and mutual points with the Vietnamese economy.
Spain has many key economic sectors that Vietnam is looking forward to developing. The European country has an advanced transport infrastructure with the world's second-largest high-speed rail network and a competitive average cost of building bullet trains.
Spain's food industry is the country's leading industry and is being developed in an industrial direction, on a large scale. These are areas in which the two countries can strengthen cooperation in the coming time.
According to Ambassador Doan Thanh Song, Vietnam and Spain are at the stage of sharing the most common benefits ever to be able to deepen the strategic partnership. Both Spain and Vietnam are looking to find, expand, and develop new markets and partners. Spain has an important position and influence not only in Europe, but also in Spanish-speaking countries, Latin America and North Africa.
