Madrid (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quangaffirmed Vietnam’s determination to work together with Spain in elevating the two countries' strategicpartnership to a new period of development while meeting with President of the Congress of Deputies of Spain MeritxellBatet in Madrid on March 1.

The meeting marked the start of the Deputy PM's official visit to theEuropean country.

Welcoming the Vietnamese delegation, the host leader affirmedthat Spain always treasures and wishes to enhance multifaceted ties withVietnam, as well as the comprehensive partnership and cooperation between theEU and Vietnam, especially when her country will hold the EU Council Presidencyin the latter half of 2023.

She applauded the progress in the two countries’ multifacetedcooperation for the last more than 45 years, especially in economy and trade,and perceived that there remains much room for cooperation, particularly inculture and people-to-people exchange.

Batet highly valued the close coordination between theSpanish and Vietnamese parliaments at regional and international inter-parliamentaryforums. She also welcomed Vietnam’s proposal on increasing exchanges betweenthe countries’ parliamentarians to boost mutual understanding and parliamentaryties.

For his part, Deputy PM Quang thanked the Spanish parliament for early ratifyingthe EU - Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and asked Spain to push for other EU countries’ parliaments’ ratification of the deal, thusfacilitating equal and mutually beneficial investment links between the twosides and helping create optimal conditions for Spanish firms to operate inVietnam.

At the meeting, both host and guest agreed to step up mutualvisits, including those between specialised committees of the two parliamentsto share legislative information and experience, and support stronger ties atmultilateral forums like the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and theAsia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP) meeting.

They voiced their belief that the cooperation between theVietnamese and Spanish parliaments will continue enjoying positive strides bothin bilateral aspects and at multilateral forums.

The two sides also concurred in continuing to stronglypromote the pillar of investment and trade; expanding cooperation to potentialfields such as culture, sports, tourism, education - training, and agriculture;and jointly responding to global issues like food security and climate change.

The President of the Spanish lower house also recognisedVietnam’s efforts, pledging support to persuade the European Council to soon liftthe IUU fishing warning for Vietnam’s fishery exports.

Quang and Batet exchanged viewpoints on the regional andglobal issues of common concern.

Regarding the East Sea issue, they affirmed the support forguaranteeing security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight, and forpeacefully resolving disputes in line with international law and the 1982United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

On this occasion, Deputy PM Quang asked Spain to continue providingfavourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to integrate into the host society and serve as a bridge for the bilateral friendship.

Also on March 1, he met with representatives of Vietnamesepeople in Spain./.