President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Vu Xuan Hong received the visiting Italian Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) delegation led by Secretary General Paolo Ferrero on July 12 in Hanoi.

At the reception, Hong spoke of Italy’s attentions to Vietnam despite its own economic difficulties.

He stated that the two countries are celebrating their 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2013, which is also the year their strategic partnership was signed during Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s visit to Italy.

For his part, Secretary General Paolo Ferrero said he hopes to hear proposals on poverty reduction as well as cooperative fields that the two countries need to boost.

He said that activities held by the VUFO and the Vietnam-Italy Friendship Association over the past time have contributed to promoting the image of Italy’s land, culture and people to Vietnam, and boosted the friendship and cooperation between the two peoples.

As part of activities to mark the 40th year since the establishment of diplomatic ties, a photo exhibition featuring the united movement of Italian people and Vietnam during the 1960s and 1970s is scheduled to take place in Hanoi this September.-VNA