Theagreement came after a conference held in Rome, Italy, on February 26reviewing the implementation of the Vietnam-Italy Action Plan in2013-2014 and outlining the 2015-2016 one.
Conference participant, Efisio Luigi Marras, General Director forItalian Globalisation and Global Affairs under the ItalianMinistry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the Italian Government alwaysgives priority to fostering its cooperation with Vietnam.
He stressed that the two nations have effectively coordinated to nurture their strategy partnership.
Meanwhile,representatives from the Italian Ministry and the Vietnamese Embassy inItaly highlighted the significance of reaped outcomes in the 2013-2014period, saying that these contributed to promoting the bilateralrelations in all fields, especially in economics, trade, investment,education, people-to-people exchange, security-defence, and militarytechnology.
Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long thanked theItalian ministries and sectors for their active cooperation in recenttime, saying it helped spread Vietnam’s image widely in Italy and inEurope in general.
The Vietnam-Italy relations haveincessantly been strengthened through the exchange of high-levelvisits, especially Prime Minister Matteo Renzi making the first ItalianPM’s official visit to Vietnam during the two countries’ 40-yeardiplomatic ties.
The launch of the Italian Consulate Generalin Ho Chi Minh City in November 2014 manifested the Italian Government’spolicy of treasuring all-around cooperation with Vietnam.
The two nations have established deputy foreign minister and deputydefence minister-level political dialogue mechanisms, while forming theJoint-Committee on Economic Cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministryof Industry and Trade and the Italian Ministry of Economic Development,and arranging a series of visits and working sessions at all levels.
Alarge number of cooperative projects in science research, training andeducation were signed, and cultural exchange activities were organisedduring the period.
Two-way trade between Vietnam and Italy grewsteadily at 25-30 percent annually, hitting 3.6 billion USD in 2014. Thefigure is hoped to reach 5 billion USD in 2016. Italy is now animportant market for Vietnam’s exports.
The same day, Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long had a meeting with Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Benedetto Della Vedova.-VNA