Overview of the seminar on trade and investment promotion in Italy (Source: VietnamPlus) Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City’s People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan pledged efforts to facilitate stable, long-term and effective operation of foreign businesses, particularly those from Italy.
Speaking at a seminar on trade and investment promotion in Torino city on September 9, the municipal official called on businesses from Torino and Italy more broadly to step up their investments in HCM City’s prioritised areas, such as high-tech agriculture, support industry, urban and infrastructure development, finance-banking, waste treatment, education and healthcare.
He took the occasion to brief the Italian firms on economic prospects and the investment potential of the southern Vietnamese economic hub.
HCM City has, to date, attracted 5,330 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects valued at 36.6 billion USD, making up a quarter of the country’s total registered capital, Quan said.
At the seminar, Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Cao Chinh Thien highlighted the continuous developments in all-round cooperation between Vietnam and Italy over the past 40 years.
The establishment of the Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership in January 2013 has contributed to lifting the bilateral ties to new heights in various areas ranging from politics and economy to culture, social affairs and education, he said.
Bilateral trade climbed from 1.13 billion USD in 2006 to nearly 4.1 billion USD in 2014, the diplomat noted, adding that Italy is now Vietnam’s third largest trade partner within the European Union and ranks 28 th among countries and territories investing in the country with 66 projects worth over 391 million USD.
The ambassador informed that the second Vietnam-Italy Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation will commence in Italy next October.
Italy will participate in the second Vietnam Food Expo scheduled to take place in HCM City in November 2016 as an honorary guest, Thien said.
Torino’s Vice Mayor Enzo Lavolta said the cooperation agreement between his city and HCM City will lay the foundation for pragmatic collaboration between the two sides.
He voiced his hope that the seminar would open up cooperation opportunities for the two cities’ businesses while enhancing affiliations between municipal authorities in culture, arts and administration.
The seminar announced that the mayor will lead a delegation of businesses from Torino city and the Piemonte region to seek investment opportunities in HCM City.-VNA
