President Truong Tan Sang and Italian President Sergio Mattarella (Source: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Italian President Sergio Mattarella left Ho Chi Minh City on November 8, concluding his State visit to Vietnam at the invitation of President Truong Tan Sang.
During his stay, the Italian guest held talk with Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang, paid a courtesy visit to Party Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong, and met with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung. He visited the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City.
At the talks and meetings, leaders of both countries stressed that Italian President Sergio’s first visit to Vietnam marks an important development step in the Vietnam-Italy Strategic Partnership.
The two sides expressed their joy at fruitful outcomes in bilateral cooperation mechanisms such as the strategic dialogue, the defence policy dialogue and visit exchanges at all levels, saying that these laid a legal foundation for strengthened ties between the two countries in the future.
The leaders spoke highly of coordination between Vietnam and Italy at multilateral forums, which helps improve the two sides’ international position, especially in climate change adaptation, food security and maritime security.
The two sides concurred with measures to spur bilateral relations in the time ahead, focusing on promoting all-level cooperation, implementing effectively the 2015-2016 action plan for the bilateral strategic partnership , and upholding the role of dialogue mechanisms and joint committees.
They also underlined the need to encouraging Vietnamese and Italian enterprises to expand affiliation in manufacturing mechanics, textiles, footwear, wood processing, support industry, construction materials, energy, agriculture, food processing, and oil and gas.
The Vietnamese and Italian leaders discussed orientations for stronger links in culture, education, vocational training, tourism, and sci-technology.
They also compared their notes of issues related to actions causing instability for peace, stability, and navigation and aviation security in the East Sea.
Italian President Sergio asserted that his country backs Vietnam’s stance to settle disputes by peaceful means in line with international law, in order to maintain navigation and aviation freedom, and ensure safety and security in the region.
The two sides signed a number of cooperation documents, including the action plan for the implementation of the Vietnam-Italy Strategic Partnership for 2015-2016 and the cooperation agreement on mutual administrative assistance in customs.
On the occasion, the Italian President also had meetings with Italian language-studying Vietnamese students in the Temple of Literature in Hanoi and attended a Vietnam-Italy business forum in Ho Chi Minh City.-VNA
