Vietnam, Spain celebrate strategic partnership establishment

Attending the ceremony was State Secretary for Trade within the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Xiana Margarida Mendez Bertolo, along with over 400 guests from relevant agencies in the host country, diplomatic representatives and overseas Vietnamese in Spain.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vietnam Ambassador to Spain Ngo Tien Dung reviewed the history of the August Revolution in 1945 and the Declaration of Independence on September 2, 1945, creating a new era of independence and freedom for the Vietnamese people.

After 74 years, Vietnam has turned into a politically stable and economically dynamic country with extensive international integration, playing an increasingly important role in maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the world, the Ambassador said, emphasising that in 2020, Vietnam will be honoured to undertake two major international responsibilities, namely the ASEAN Chair 2020 and non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021. It is the national pride and aspiration, but also a great responsibility that the international community entrust Vietnam, the diplomat said.

Regarding bilateral relations, Ambassador Dung asserted that, for many years, Spain has always been one of the important partners of Vietnam in the European Union (EU) and has become Vietnam's first strategic partner in Europe. In the 42 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the bilateral relations have made strong strides in all aspects, with trade turnover growing continuously at a rate of over 15% a year for 17 years, reaching US$3.6 billion in 2018.

Many large Spanish enterprises are investing in Vietnam and nearly 80,000 Spanish tourists visited Vietnam in 2018, along with the signed cooperation framework agreements, that bring a premise for promoting cooperation between the two countries more broadly and substantially, especially in the fields of trade, investment, energy and infrastructure.

In 2019, the delegation exchange activities between the two countries took place at various levels and the signing of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement in last June saw new prospects for cooperation between Vietnam and Spain in particular and with the EU in general.

For her part, Xiana Mendez congratulated the impressive achievements of Vietnam in recent years, considering it a good model for countries to refer to. She affirmed that Spain attaches importance to strengthening the comprehensive cooperation with Vietnam, emphasising that Vietnam is an important partner in ASEAN for Spain.

She expressed her hope that with the soon ratification of the two important economic agreements Vietnam has signed with the EU, both parties would have favourable conditions to expand and accelerate economic cooperation and investment activities in many fields. She also hoped that the Vietnam-Spain bilateral strategic partnership would continue developing deeply in the coming time.

On the occasion, the Vietnamese Embassy also cooperated with Spanish designer Chula to organise an ao dai (Vietnamese traditional long gown) show to introduce the Vietnamese ao dai collection. Guests were impressed by the beauty of costumes inspired by traditional costumes as well as typical Vietnamese materials through the designs and performances of Spanish and Vietnamese artists.

In addition, photo displays and film screenings also introduced about the country and people of Vietnam, along with quintessential dishes of Vietnamese cuisine were also offered to international friends at the event.