Spain willing to cooperate with Vietnam in high-speed railway development: Spanish PM

Spain, which boasts the world's second-longest high-speed railway system, is ready to cooperate and share expertise with Vietnam in this field, said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

The Spanish leader made the statement on Monday while meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on the sidelines of the 3rd United Nations Ocean Summit in Nice, France.

In response, PM Chinh said that Vietnam intends to send a working group to Spain to learn from experience and strengthen cooperation in developing the railway industry, and proposed that Spain cooperate in transferring technology and training human resources in this field.

Previously, at a meeting with Vietnam’s Party General Secretary To Lam on April 9 during his visit to Vietnam, Pedro Sanchez noted that Spanish businesses want to participate in infrastructure and railway projects to contribute to the modernization and dynamic development in Vietnam.

Vietnam and Spain elevated their relations to a strategic partnership in December 2009, which made Spain the Southeast Asian country's first strategic partner in the EU.

The two Prime Ministers discussed directions to continue concretizing the results of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's recent visit to Vietnam, making the Vietnam-Spain Strategic Partnership deeper and more practical and effective.

The two leaders agreed to effectively implement the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the newly signed Protocol on bilateral financial cooperation.

Both sides committed to soon convening the first session of the Joint Committee on Economic, Trade and Investment Cooperation in 2025, to fully tap the potential and complementarity of the two economies, striving to raise bilateral trade to over $8 billion in the near future.

The Vietnamese PM called on Spain to support the European Parliament’s early ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), as well as to advocate the European Commission’s removal of its “yellow card” warning on Vietnamese seafood.

He suggested the two sides continue to open their doors to each other in order to diversify markets, products and supply chains, thereby reducing reliance on any single market.

Spain supports Vietnam in further strengthening its partnership and comprehensive cooperation with the EU, and in harnessing the great potential of the EVFTA, Sanchez affirmed.

The Spanish PM invited PM Chinh to attend the upcoming 4th High-Level Conference on Finance for Development (FfD) hosted by Spain to continue discussing potential areas of bilateral cooperation.

Under Resolution No. 106 issued by the Vietnamese government on April 23, 2025, the North-South high-speed railway will have a total length of about 1,541 km, with a design speed of 350 km/h, a load capacity of 22.5 tons/axle. It will include 23 passenger stations and five cargo stations.

Work on the railway is expected to commence before December 31, 2026, and be completed by 2035.

VinSpeed High-Speed Rail Investment and Development JSC, a subsidiary of private conglomerate Vingroup, and multi-industry group Truong Hai (Thaco) have proposed engaging in the project.

Thaco said that of the $61.35 billion in investment capital, 20% will come from its equity and the remaining from foreign and domestic loans.

Meanwhile, VinSpeed commits to mobilizing 20% of the total investment capital, equivalent to $12.27 billion. For the remaining 80%, excluding costs related to compensation, relocation support, and resettlement for land clearance, the company proposed borrowing from the state budget, through zero-interest loans, repayable over a 35-year period from the disbursement date.

Most recently, an alliance between Mekolor, a relatively unknown Vietnamese company, and American entity Great USA showed an intention to participate in this national project.

The alliance said it will arrange and demonstrate sufficient cash resources to ensure the smooth implementation of the project with $100 billion from investment funds under the Great Core Fund and Mekolor Capital - part of the Mekolor-Great USA ecosystem.