WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama on Tuesday called Spain's new Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to congratulate him on his approval by the parliament, White House said in a statement.

The statement said during the phone call, Obama underscored the US support for the economic reform agenda proposed by Rajoy whose Popular Party won Spanish general election last month with an overall majority of 186 seats in the 350-seat parliament.

"The two leaders agreed on the vitality of the alliance between our two countries, which cooperate closely on a full range of issues on our shared global agenda," said the statement.

Obama looks forward to welcoming Rajoy to the upcoming NATO Summit in Chicago in May next year, the statement added.

Mariano Rajoy was approved by Spanish parliament as the new prime minister on Tuesday at the end of the two-day investiture debate.

Rajoy said his party would dedicate efforts to ensuring that Spain will meet the target of reducing the country's deficit in line with the agreement reached with the EU in October, which requires Spain to cut around 16.5 billion euros ($21.62 billion) in spending.