Spanish King receives head of Vietnam-Spain Friendship Association
Spanish King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia received the head of the Vietnam-Spain Friendship Association in Hanoi, on February 21 on the occasion of their official visit to Vietnam.
The Vietnam-Spain Friendship Association is a bridge which helps strengthen the two countries' co-operation, especially in culture, said the association's chairman Le Quoc Trung.
The Spanish King expressed his pleasure at the Vietnam - Spain close relationship. He said he believed that the Vietnam-Spain Friendship Association would continue to play an important role in promoting the friendship and co-operation between the two nations.
Spanish King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia left Hanoi on the afternoon of February 21, successfully concluding their state visit to Vietnam.
Vietnam News Agency - February 22, 2006.
Spanish daily praises King's visit to Vietnam
The visit to Vietnam by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain was an important event as it opened a new period for comprehensive co-operation between the two countries, said a Spanish daily on February 20.
Spanish "Country" daily said in its commentary that executives of many big enterprises accompanying the King to Vietnam showed that Vietnam's 80-million people are highly attractive to Spanish business circles. This also demonstrated that the Spanish businesses responded actively to Vietnam's policy of attracting foreign investment into the country's infrastructure construction, communication, and tourism sectors.
The paper added that the Vietnamese government is simplifying administrative procedures, improving the legal environment for investment, and encouraging economic sectors to expand co-operation with foreign partners.
After nearly 30 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the paper said the two sides always maintained a fine political ties with rapid recent development. During this visit, Spain also pledged to grant Vietnam 53 million Euros, making Vietnam the biggest Asian recipient of Spanish assistance.
Vietnam News Agency - February 22, 2006.
Spanish office for international development
co-operation opens in Vietnam
An Office for International Development Co-operation (TCO) under the Spanish Agency for International Co-operation (AECI) was inaugurated in Hanoi on February 21.
The inauguration ceremony was held during Spanish King Juan Carlos's first official visit to Vietnam.
Spanish Ambassador to Vietnam Gonzalo Ortiz said TCO of AECI under the Spanish Embassy in Vietnam will co-ordinate and implement co-operation resources under its jurisdiction. In addition, the office will co-operate with programmes and projects of other administrative agencies. It also has the task of co-ordinating Spanish development co-operation activities with other regional countries, including Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.
The opening of TCO in Hanoi highlighted a strong commitment between Spain and Vietnam in a plan on overall co-operation in the Asian region, with priority given to Vietnam.
According to Ambassador Gonzalo Ortiz, Spain will continue to put Vietnam high on its list of countries to receive preferential development assistance in Asia. Based on the overall co-operation strategy, the Spanish side has worked out a programme on development co-operation with Vietnam in the 2006-2009 period in accordance with Vietnam's five-year and annual socio-economic development plans.
Vietnam News Agency - February 22, 2006.
Deputy PM urges more Vietnam-Spain trade ties
Deputy PM Vu Khoan on Tuesday called on Spanish businesses to expand operation in Vietnam, saying that would help them reach the huge market in Asia.
Currently negotiating free trade agreements with China and Japan, Vietnam could form a bridge for Spanish enterprises to reach the market of some 3 billion customers, Khoan said at a Vietnam-Spain business forum.
The forum was held in Hanoi at the presence of King Juan Carlos I of Spain, who was in Vietnam for a two-day visit.
On the occasion, the Spain Agency of International Cooperation (AECI) opened Monday an office for international cooperation and development in Hanoi.
King Carlos yesterday affirmed Spain’s policy to give “priority status” to Vietnam among its Asian partners in his meeting with other Vietnamese leaders.
The two countries had established relations in many fields and bilateral trade had increased in recent years, Khoan said at the business forum.
However, the cooperation scale “had not matched their potential and desire,” Khoan said, pointing out that Vietnam’s dynamic economy and its large population made it a potential partner for Spanish enterprises.
Attendees at the forum expressed their hopes that businesspeople would take new opportunities to further develop economic cooperation between the two countries.
ODA commitment
Vietnam was one of a few countries that Spain considered top priority in granting official development assistance, Spanish Ambassador Gonzalo Ortiz said at the ceremony to inaugurate the office for international cooperation and development.
Spain had established a program for cooperation with Vietnam until 2010 that matched Vietnam’s five-year development plan, he added.
According to him, the office will regulate and implement bilateral cooperation projects within its authority, as well as coordinate with other agencies’ program and projects.
It would also regulate Spain’s cooperation development activities in other countries in the region, including Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar.
Vietnam News Agency - February 21, 2006.
Spanish group cuts deal to help Vietnam power sector
HANOI - Spain’s Soluziona Group yesterday signed a deal with Vietnam’s Power Regulation Bureau to help Vietnam develop a competitive power market, which is seen the first step by the Spanish corporation to do business in Vietnam.
The agreement, signed during the official visit to Vietnam by King of Spain Juan Carlos, is aimed to apply new management methods to generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the entire country.
The agreement is comprised of two main components, with total funding of some 300,000 euro, said Tomas De Miguel Matesanz, general manager of the group.
The first component, funded with 100,000 euro from Spain’s Fondo De Estudios De Viabilidad, will build up a renovation program for Vietnam’s electricity industry in order to create a modern operating and management method. This method aims to develop a market where there are many electricity distributors instead of a single distributor, the Electricity of Vietnam Corporation like now.
The second component, worth 200,000 euro as funding from the ASEAN Power Center and the EU, is aimed to build up a long-term development strategy for the country’s power industry. Soluziona will conduct studies and act as a consultant for Vietnam to build strategies for power generation, transmission and distribution nationwide. These strategies are meant to create market mechanisms on power distribution and sales.
A representative of Soluziona told reporters after the signing that there were numerous problems in power distribution in Vietnam, as well as in the supply-demand balance. Such problems have hindered foreign investors from coming to Vietnam to develop power projects.
Therefore, Soluziona would help Vietnam improve the investment environment in the power industry, the representative said.
Soluziona’s involvement in Vietnam’s electricity industry is also seen as the first step for the corporation to invest in Vietnam in the future.
Matesanz said that his group was considering possibilities to invest in Vietnam’s power generation sector and infrastructure, he said.
Soluziona was established in 2000 as an arm of Union Fenosa, one of the three biggest conglomerates in Spain. Vietnam will be the third Asian destination for Soluziona, which has invested in the Philippines and Malaysia.
By Hong Ha - The Saigon Times Daily - February 22, 2006.
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