Madrid (VNA) – Politburo memberand Permanent Vice Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Tran Thanh Man onMarch 15 arrived in Madrid to start his four-day working visit to Spain.

At a meeting with Secretary General of the CommunistParty of Spain (PCE) Enrique Santiago, Man highly valued the positive progress ofthe Vietnam-Spain relations with a large number of high-level visits.

Noting that the PCE was the first inWestern Europe to set up relations with the Communist Party of Vietnam, Manaffirmed that Vietnam always remembers the support and solidarity that theparty gave to Vietnam during its national struggle for independence.

He underlined that cooperation through theParty channel is an important foundation for the promotion of the political anddiplomatic ties between the two countries.

Man asked for Spain’s assistance in callingfor the international community’s support to the viewpoints of the ASEAN andVietnam on the East Sea issues with the aim to ensure aviation and maritime security,safety and freedom in the region, and settling disputes through peaceful measuresin line with international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of theSea (UNCLOS) 1982. He said he hopes the European Commission will soon removethe yellow card on the Vietnamese fisheries sector.

For his part, Enrique Santiago expressed his admiration for the Communist Party of Vietnam and its role in the nationalstruggle for independence in the past and the current national development ofVietnam.

He said that the PCE is always willing tocontribute to promoting the Vietnam-Spain relations as well as the ties betweenthe two parties. As a party that supports peace and multilateralism, the PCEwill assist Vietnam to foster relations with multilateral organisations, whilehastening European parliaments to approve the EU-Vietnam Investment ProtectionAgreement (EVIPA) as soon as possible, he pledged.

Regarding inter-parliamentary cooperation, Santiago affirmed that the PCE iswilling to connect the Spanish parliament with the Vietnamese NA, initially throughthe organisation of visits of parliamentarians from different parties to Vietnam.

The same day, Man had a meeting withleaders of Acciona Group, and visited a number of wastewater treatment plantsrun by the firm in Madrid.

Acciona, one of the leading Spanishenterprises in the field of infrastructure development, renewable energy andenvironment, has engaged in the project to clean up Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe canal inHo Chi Minh City.

Man lauded the firm’s presence in Vietnam,considering it as a turning point in the expansion of the Vietnam-Spain investmentcooperation. He said that the treatment of solid waste, wastewater and domesticwaste is an urgent problem in Vietnam, adding he hopes after the project isfinished, it will become a model to multiply in other localities, contributingto promoting environmental protection in Vietnam.

Also on March 15, Man visitedthe Vietnamese Embassy in the European country.

Reporting to the NA Vice Chairman on therelations between the two countries, Ambassador Hoang Xuan Hai said that Spainis the eighth largest trade partner of Vietnam in the EU, while Vietnam is thebiggest trade partner of Spain in the ASEAN. Last year, two-way trade reached 4.5billion EUR (4.76 billion USD), with Vietnam’s exports of 4 billion EUR./.