Italian PM voices support for Vietnam’s UNSC non-permanent seat run

Hanoi (VNA) – Italy supports Vietnam’s bid to run for a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in the 2020-2021 term, affirmed Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

He made the affirmation at his meeting with Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan in Hanoi on June 5 during his official visit to Vietnam.

Ngan said she believes the visit by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte would contribute to stepping up the Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership.

She congratulated the guest on having successful talks with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, saying “Vietnam highly values Italy’s position in the region and the world and wants to boost all-faceted cooperation with the country.”

PM Giuseppe Conte said his talks with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc opened new cooperative fields for the two countries based on the strategic partnership which was set up in 2013.

He expressed his hope that the visit will create an impetus for bilateral cooperation to be expanded not only in economy, but also in culture, science and technology, noting Vietnam’s economy is growing dynamically.

The guest leader showed his delight at the growing parliamentary ties between the two countries, as backed by visits, meetings and participation in forums by the parliaments’ representatives.

Ngan was glad that the two countries’ sound friendship and cooperation made progress in all fields, saying the two sides actively implemented cooperative mechanisms, like the strategic dialogue at the deputy foreign ministerial level, the defence policy dialogue at the deputy ministerial level and the joint committee on economic cooperation.

Italy is Vietnam’s fourth largest trade partner in the EU and Vietnam is Italy’s largest trade partner in ASEAN.

Bilateral trade value rose to 4.67 billion USD in 2018 from 1.8 billion USD in 2010 and the two are striving for the figure of 6 billion USD in 2020 as agreed by their leaders.

Ngan told her guest that with 440 million USD in investment capital, Italy is the 32nd investor among 126 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. Italian businesses have mainly engaged in industry, mechanical manufacturing, transport infrastructure and energy.

The two countries have engaged actively in cooperation in culture, education, science and technology, especially exchanges between universities and research institutes, seeing it as a foundation for their sustainable cooperation, she said.

She spoke highly of Italy’s provision of ODA for climate change, health care, small and medium-sized enterprise support, and vocational training, noting that it has met practically Vietnam’s priorities in sustainable development.

She expected that the countries would work to outline new orientations for their cooperation in line with the strategic partnership in the new circumstances.

Exchanging views on the completion of procedures for the official signing of the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the Vietnamese leader expressed her hope that Italy and the PM will work to push for the signing and ratification of the deal as it will open up new cooperative fields for both sides.

She welcomed the initiative to organize the third high-level dialogue on Italy-ASEAN economic ties in Hanoi, expecting the event would cement the ties between Italy and ASEAN countries, especially Vietnam.

PM Giuseppe Conte said he expects Vietnam, as the ASEAN Chair in 2020, would make positive contributions to ASEAN and the EU.

He noted that Italy backs the EU’s signing and ratification of EVFTA and expressed his belief that the agreement will be the key tool in ratcheting up bilateral ties, especially in economy.

He was glad with bilateral economic cooperation over recent time and said there are more rooms for the two countries to expand their partnership in the field.-VNA