<h6><strong>The Diplomat</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Spanish ambassador to Vietnam, Carmen Cano de Lasala, met with the Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army and Deputy Minister of National Defense of this country, General Nguyen Tan Cuong, with whom she discussed the interest of both countries in deepening defense cooperation in fields such as industry and UN peacekeeping.</strong></h4> Cano de Lasala was received by General Cuong this Tuesday, December 9, in Hanoi. During the meeting, according to the online newspaper Vietnam Plus, the Deputy Minister of Defense highlighted the solid progress in bilateral relations in the areas of diplomacy, defense and security, economy and trade, and culture, sports, and tourism. He also recalled the official visit to Vietnam last April by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, the first since diplomatic relations were established in 1977, which represents "an important milestone that will help strengthen the Strategic Partnership between both countries." Furthermore, Cuong highlighted Spain's participation, through the Ministry of Defense and defense companies, in the Vietnam International Defense Exhibition, including Airbus's presence in both the 2022 and 2024 editions, and invited Spain to participate in the third edition of the exhibition. He also proposed that both countries continue to strengthen cooperation through delegation exchanges, training, defense industry, UN peacekeeping, and coordination in multilateral forums, and expressed his hope for greater support from the ambassador to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation in a practical and effective manner. In this regard, De Lasala affirmed that Vietnam is a trusted partner of Spain, including in defense, and stated that the Spanish government wishes to deepen defense cooperation in areas such as industry and UN peacekeeping. During Sánchez's trip to Vietnam, accompanied by Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares and Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Minister Luis Planas, the Prime Minister offered the experience of Spanish companies in green energy, air connectivity, port infrastructure and railways, and attended the signing of five agreements to develop political consultations and to facilitate, in the midst of the "trade war" with the US, Spanish exports of agricultural products and investments in sectors such as transport, infrastructure, energy and water.
