Hanoi (VNA) – A Spanishofficial affirmed that the European country attaches importance to comprehensivecooperation with Vietnam while addressing a ceremony held in Madrid by theVietnamese Embassy on October 3.
The event celebrated the 77th National Day of Vietnam (September 2) and the 45th anniversary ofthe two countries’ diplomatic ties.
In his remarks, Vietnamese AmbassadorHoang Xuan Hai emphasised the significance of the date September 2, 1945, thatmarked the founding of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (now the SocialistRepublic of Vietnam), along with brilliant milestones over the last 77 years,especially the country’s outstanding achievements in reform, internationalintegration, and national development since 1986.
He noted the year 2022 holds specialimportance to Vietnam - Spain relations as they mark the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties and 13 years since the establishment of the strategicpartnership.
Highlighting the strides in bilateralrelations, he said Spain was the first EU member to set up a strategicpartnership with Vietnam, in December 2009. The two sides have organised manymutual high-ranking visits and signed cooperation agreements in variousspheres.
Their trade surged from nearly 1.2billion USD in 2009 to over 3 billion VND annually in recent years. It stood at2.46 billion USD in the first eight months of 2022. Spain is investing nearly141 million USD in more than 80 projects in Vietnam.
Spain has also provided concessional loansand commercial credit for Vietnam to develop the economy, Hai noted.
However, he held that bilateral cooperationhas yet to live up to the strategic partnership as well as the two countries’potential and aspirations.
The ambassador added he hopes thatVietnamese and Spanish enterprises will capitalise on the EU - Vietnam FreeTrade Agreement (EVFTA), which already came into force, and the EU - Vietnam InvestmentProtection Agreement (EVIPA) that was ratified by the Spanish parliament, tostrongly promote economic, trade, and investment links.
For her part, Xiana Margarida Méndez Bértolo,Spanish Secretary of State for Trade, congratulated Vietnam on its impressiveachievements over the last 77 years and described the country as a good examplefor other countries to refer to.
She said Vietnam is a leading ASEANpartner of her country, and that Spain attaches importance to the reinforcementof all-round cooperation with the Southeast Asian nation.
The official expressed her hope that thestrategic partnership will continue developing intensively and extensively inthe coming time.
Also onOctober 3, the Vietnamese Embassy, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism,the Vietnam National Academy of Music, and the Madrid Royal Conservatory held aconcert in celebration of Vietnam’s 77th National Day and the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties./.
