On April 9, at the Party Central Committee Headquarters, General Secretary To Lam received Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Welcoming Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and the Spanish high-ranking delegation on an official visit to Vietnam, General Secretary To Lam affirmed that Vietnam wishes to deepen all-faceted cooperation with Spain, an important member and gateway to the European Union.
The Spanish Prime Minister congratulated Vietnam on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day, expressing his impression of Vietnam's current development achievements.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez affirmed that Spain is ready to be a bridge to further promote Vietnam - EU relations and emphasized the desire to upgrade the Spain - Vietnam relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
General Secretary To Lam shared with the Spanish Prime Minister's assessments of the current world economic situation, affirming that Vietnam pursues autonomy policies, overcomes difficulties through diversifying markets with regions around the world such as the EU, Africa, etc.; promotes the development and application of science and technology, enhances trade exchanges with partner countries and traditional friends, including Spain.
The Spanish Prime Minister emphasized the similarities and complementarities between the two dynamic economies in the region; affirmed that Spain will mobilize EU countries to soon ratify the Vietnam - EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA); and suggested that Vietnam send a delegation to Spain to exchange and learn from experiences to mobilize the EC to soon remove the "IUU" yellow card for Vietnamese seafood.
The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fields of defense - security, agriculture, education - training, etc., while expanding cooperation to potential areas such as innovation, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, digital transformation.
General Secretary To Lam emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation in the fields of science and technology, transportation, and the strengths of Spain and Vietnam; cultural and tourism cooperation between the two countries has great potential, especially the increasing number of Spanish tourists to Vietnam.
As the country with the second largest high-speed railway system in the world, the Spanish Prime Minister shared that Spanish businesses are eager to participate in infrastructure and railway projects to contribute to the modernization and dynamic development in Vietnam.
On this occasion, General Secretary To Lam thanked and suggested that the Spanish Government continue to create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community to stabilize their lives and integrate well to make practical contributions to the socio-economic development of the locality and the traditional friendship between the two countries.
On the multilateral level, the Spanish Prime Minister highly appreciated Vietnam's efforts in contributing to solving global issues and welcomed Vietnam's organization of the Partnership for Green Growth (P4G) Summit in April 2025, and affirmed that Spain will have a representative to attend the conference.
