At the meeting between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni in Brussels on December 14, 2022 on the occasion of the ASEAN-EU Commemoration Summit (Photo: VNA) In an interview granted to the Vietnam NewsAgency on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam-Italydiplomatic relations, the diplomat said that Italy is an important partnerand a loyal friend of Vietnam.
In all meetings, leaders of Italy affirmedthe country’s great attention and determination to promote the all-roundbilateral relations, considering Vietnam as a priority for developingpartnership in Southeast Asia.
During his Vietnam visit in November2016, Italian President Sergio Mattarella expressed his impression at thebeauty and dynamic development of Vietnam. In his recent congratulation letterto President Vo Van Thuong, he also showed hope to further strengthen thestrategic partnership between the two countries, said Ambassador Hung.
He underlined that economy is a bright spotin the bilateral relations. Vietnam is Italy's largest trading partner in ASEANand Italy is Vietnam's fourth largest partner from the European Union (EU). In2022, despite many fluctuations and difficulties, two-way trade still reachedthe highest level ever at 6.2 billion USD, up 11% over 2021. The Italian governmenthas included Vietnam in its list of 20 priority countries topromote trade and investment until 2030. Many Italian investors in themanufacturing industry are operating effectively and successfully in Vietnam,including Bonfiglioli, Piaggio, Danieli, Datalogic, and Ariston, he added.
At the same time, bilateral cooperation inthe fields of culture, education, science - technology, tourism,people-to-people exchanges and many others has also continued to developpositively, the ambassador said.
At the signing ceremony between VietinBank of Vietnam and UniCredit S.p.A of Italy in Hanoi on May 5, 2021 (Photo: VNA) Regarding education andtraining, the two sides have signed and implemented many cooperation projects.The Italian Government has annually provided scholarships to Vietnamesestudents. Together with the rising number of tourists between the two countriesin recent years, people-to-people exchanges have also contributed to enhancingmutual understanding, bringing the two countries closer together, stated thediplomat.
He said that collaboration among localitiesof the two sides is also growing, with the establishment of partnership betweenBinh Duong, Binh Phuoc provinces of Vietnam and Emilia Romagna region of Italy,Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Veneto, Hanoi and Lazio and Roma, and Lam Dong and Como,among others.
The ambassador said he believes that with many similarities, Vietnam and Italyare eying great potential for stronger cooperation in all fields.
He held that in the time to come, the twosides should continue increasing meetings and the exchange of delegations athigh and all levels through all channels, at both bilateral and multilateralforums, while strengthening political trust, promoting the extensivecooperation among ministries, sectors and localities, optimising existingcooperation mechanisms, and expanding cooperation to other fields such assecurity and justice.
At the same time, the two countries should bolster collaboration in economicsectors of Italy’s strength and Vietnam’s demand, he said, adding that Italycan be a gateway for Vietnamese goods to the EU.
The cooperation potential for Vietnam andItaly is also high in many other fields such as innovation, digitaltransformation, green economy, renewable energy. The launch of directflights between the two countries is also crucial to meeting the increasing demandof goods transportation and people-to-people exchanges between the two sides,he added.
Along with effectively implementing theAction Plan to realise the bilateral strategic partnership in particularperiods, the two sides should support the business communities to foster theirconnections, while strengthening the promotion of each other’s image in the twocountries, sharing information and viewpoints on regional and internationalissues of shared concern, the diplomat said.
Meanwhile, the two countries should promote cooperation at multilateral forums,especially within the ASEAN-EU cooperation framework, he said, stressing thatVietnam can help increase the ASEAN’s presence in Italy and foster theItaly-ASEAN relations.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Duong Hai Hung (Photo: VNA) Ambassador Hung also highlighted activitiesto celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam-Italy diplomaticrelations and the 10-year strategic partnership this year within the Vietnam-ItalyYear 2023 with the theme “Sincere-Understanding-Cooperation”. The activitieswill be held in many big cities of Italy such as Rome, Milan, Florence, Veniceand Napoli throughout the year, covering many areas including art, culture, tourismand economy, he said.
Regarding Vietnamese Embassy’s plan tofoster bilateral cooperation this year and beyond, Ambassador Hung said that theembassy will continue to coordinate with relevant agencies to organise visitsand delegation exchanges between the two countries and other important eventssuch as the political consultation at the deputy FM level, defence dialogue at the deputy ministerial level, and meetings of Joint Committee on economiccooperation, while giving ideas to build the Action Plan for the implementationof the bilateral strategic partnership in the 2024-2026 period.
As the Chair of the ASEAN Committee in Roma in the first half of 2023, theembassy will focus on promoting ASEAN solidarity, visibility and centrality.
It will also work to connect agencies and localities of the two sides, while contributingto optimising the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and hastening theratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Promotion Agreement (EVIPA), removingthe EC’s yellow card against Vietnamese seafood, and supporting Vietnam’sstance on the East Sea issue, he said.
Ambassador Hung said that the embassy will also focus on strengthening economicand cultural diplomacy and continue to support Vietnamese citizens in thecountry./.
He said that collaboration among localitiesof the two sides is also growing, with the establishment of partnership betweenBinh Duong, Binh Phuoc provinces of Vietnam and Emilia Romagna region of Italy,Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Veneto, Hanoi and Lazio and Roma, and Lam Dong and Como,among others.
The ambassador said he believes that with many similarities, Vietnam and Italyare eying great potential for stronger cooperation in all fields.
He held that in the time to come, the twosides should continue increasing meetings and the exchange of delegations athigh and all levels through all channels, at both bilateral and multilateralforums, while strengthening political trust, promoting the extensivecooperation among ministries, sectors and localities, optimising existingcooperation mechanisms, and expanding cooperation to other fields such assecurity and justice.
At the same time, the two countries should bolster collaboration in economicsectors of Italy’s strength and Vietnam’s demand, he said, adding that Italycan be a gateway for Vietnamese goods to the EU.
The cooperation potential for Vietnam andItaly is also high in many other fields such as innovation, digitaltransformation, green economy, renewable energy. The launch of directflights between the two countries is also crucial to meeting the increasing demandof goods transportation and people-to-people exchanges between the two sides,he added.
Along with effectively implementing theAction Plan to realise the bilateral strategic partnership in particularperiods, the two sides should support the business communities to foster theirconnections, while strengthening the promotion of each other’s image in the twocountries, sharing information and viewpoints on regional and internationalissues of shared concern, the diplomat said.
Meanwhile, the two countries should promote cooperation at multilateral forums,especially within the ASEAN-EU cooperation framework, he said, stressing thatVietnam can help increase the ASEAN’s presence in Italy and foster theItaly-ASEAN relations.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Duong Hai Hung (Photo: VNA) Regarding Vietnamese Embassy’s plan tofoster bilateral cooperation this year and beyond, Ambassador Hung said that theembassy will continue to coordinate with relevant agencies to organise visitsand delegation exchanges between the two countries and other important eventssuch as the political consultation at the deputy FM level, defence dialogue at the deputy ministerial level, and meetings of Joint Committee on economiccooperation, while giving ideas to build the Action Plan for the implementationof the bilateral strategic partnership in the 2024-2026 period.
As the Chair of the ASEAN Committee in Roma in the first half of 2023, theembassy will focus on promoting ASEAN solidarity, visibility and centrality.
It will also work to connect agencies and localities of the two sides, while contributingto optimising the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and hastening theratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Promotion Agreement (EVIPA), removingthe EC’s yellow card against Vietnamese seafood, and supporting Vietnam’sstance on the East Sea issue, he said.
Ambassador Hung said that the embassy will also focus on strengthening economicand cultural diplomacy and continue to support Vietnamese citizens in thecountry./.
VNA
