Italian media: Vietnam President’s visit promotes bilateral relations
Italian media ran many articles highlighting the State visit to Italy by Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong from July 25-27, stating that this event aims to leverage strengths and potential to promote cooperation between the two countries.
In an article, Agenzia Stampa Italia newspaper stressed that since the establishment of diplomatic relations on March 23, 1973, the Vietnam – Italy relationship has developed rapidly.
After setting up a strategic partnership ten years ago, the two countries have actively promoted practical and effective cooperation in all fields, especially advancing political and diplomatic ties, the article said.
Within the framework of the strategic partnership, the two countries have coordinated to hold political consultations and meetings of the joint committees on economic cooperation, and science and technology cooperation.
Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years, the bilateral relationship has been maintained and sustained through the flexible and adaptive efforts of both sides.
Italy has consistently promoted multi-faceted cooperation with Vietnam, considering Vietnam as a priority in the Southeast Asian region to develop relations.
At multilateral forums, Italy and Vietnam often collaborate and support each other, and advocate peace, stability, security, freedom of navigation and aviation, and respect for international law.
The newspaper also reviewed other cooperation areas between Vietnam and Italy, including connections in culture and education, science – technology, tourism, and cooperation between localities.
The two countries regularly coordinate to organize various activities and initiatives to introduce and promote their culture, helping bring Italian culture closer to the Vietnamese people and vice versa.
The two sides have developed a science and technology cooperation plan for 2021-2023 with 11 joint research projects, promoting science-technology as a pillar of cooperation within the framework of the Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership.
In Vietnam's tourism development strategy, Italy is identified as one of the key markets with great potential. The number of Italian tourists visiting Vietnam grew at an average rate of 15% during the 2015 - 2019 period.
Meanwhile, L’Identità Newspaper stressed that the Vietnamese state leader will have meetings with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
According to the newspaper, after half a century, the bilateral relations have flourished across all fields, both in bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
It also highlighted cooperation between Vietnamese and Italian localities, citing the twinning relations between Hanoi and Lazio, Binh Duong - Emilia-Romagna, Ho Chi Minh City - Turin, and Vinh Phuc - Tuscany.
Vietnam is a key trading partner of Italy in ASEAN, while Italy is the fourth largest trade partner of Vietnam within the European Union (EU). In 2022, the two-way trade hit a record high ever at US$6.2 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 11%.
According to the newspaper, the Italian government has included Vietnam in its list of 20 countries to continue promoting trade and investment ties until 2030. Many Italian investors operating in the processing sector have invested effectively and gained success in the Vietnamese market.
