Party General Secretary Tô Lâm meets with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez in Hà Nội on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam wants to deepen comprehensive cooperation with Spain, a key member and a gateway to the European Union (EU), Party General Secretary Tô Lâm told visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at their meeting in Hà Nội on Wednesday.

Highlighting the significance of the first-ever visit by a head of the Spanish government since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the Party chief believed that the visit will serve as a catalyst to elevate the bilateral Strategic Partnership to a new height, fostering prosperity and mutual benefits for both nations while contributing to peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

While sharing PM Sánchez's assessments of the world's current economic situation, he affirmed Việt Nam’s pursuit of a policy of self-reliance, overcoming challenges by diversifying markets with regions around the world, including the EU and Africa. It is also promoting the development and application of sci-tech, while increasing trade exchanges with partner countries and traditional friends, including Spain, Laam said.

Spanish PM Sánchez, in response, highly valued Việt Nam’s role and position in the region and the world, as well as in Spain’s foreign policy, affirming that Spain is ready to serve as a bridge to further strengthen Việt Nam-EU relations and expects to upgrade the bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The PM highlighted the similarities and supplements between the Spanish and Vietnamese economies, pledging to urge EU nations to soon ratify the EU-Việt Nam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). He also suggested Việt Nam send a delegation to Spain to learn its experience aimed at prompting the European Commission to soon remove its IUU yellow card warning against Vietnamese seafood.

Both sides agreed to reinforce cooperation in the fields of national defence-security, agriculture, and education-training, while also exploring promising fields like innovation, artificial intelligence, semiconductor, and digital transformation.

Lâm stressed the importance of boosting cooperation in sci-tech and transport which are the strengths of Spain that meet Việt Nam’s needs. He also noted that cultural and tourism exchanges hold great potential, given the rising number of Spanish tourist arrivals to Việt Nam.

PM Sánchez, representing a country with the world’s second-largest high-speed rail network, said Spanish firms are keen to join Việt Nam’s infrastructure and railway projects.

The Party leader took this occasion to thank Spain for supporting the Vietnamese community and called for continued assistance for their integration and contributions to both nations.

On the multilateral aspect, PM Sánchez praised Việt Nam's efforts for the settlement of global issues and welcomed Việt Nam’s hosting of the Partnership for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) Summit in April, confirming that Spain would send representatives to the event.

Both sides stressed that Việt Nam and Spain need to continue coordinating closely at multilateral forums and international organisations, promoting multilateralism and respect for international law to address regional and global challenges, especially amid rapid and complicated changes around the world, including the East Sea (internationally known as South China Sea) issue. —VNS