At the meeting, part of the Vietnamese Deputy PM’s official visit to the European country, the two sides hailed the recent strides in the two nations’ relations.
They agreed to intensify mutual visits at all levels, effectively carry out bilateral cooperation mechanisms, and fruitfully implement the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to elevate bilateral trade to US$5 billion.
Deputy PM Quang said Vietnam always places importance on the “strategic partnership towards the future” with Spain, while the host noted that Spain respects Vietnam’s stature and role in the Asia-Pacific region.
Quang asked Spain to offer favourable conditions for Vietnam’s agricultural and fishery products to access its market and the EU, encourage Spanish businesses to increase high-quality investment in such fields as infrastructure, renewable energy, transport, and information technology in Vietnam, and and support the European Commission’s removal of the IUU fishing warning for Vietnam’s fishery export.
He also called on the Spanish Government to continue providing favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community, which he described as an important bridge of the countries’ friendship.
Calviño highlighted Spanish enterprises’ growing attention to the Vietnamese market and greatly valued Vietnam’s political stability and favourable investment and business climate.
She agreed to maintain development assistance for the Southeast Asian country.
Vietnam is a favourite tourism destination of many Spanish people, she noted, agreeing to consider the opening of a direct air route between the two countries in the time ahead.
Vietnam has been striving to developing sustainable fisheries, she added, while pledging technical support for the country to improve its fisheries management system to prevent IUU fishing as requested by the EU.
Both sides also consented to expand cooperation in security - defence, education - training, science - technology, natural resources and environment, digital transformation, response to global challenges like climate change and food insecurity; and in early signing an agreement on cultural and sport cooperation to help deepen mutual understanding and people-to-people exchange.
Besides, host and guest also compared notes on some regional and international issues of shared concern.
