Milan (VNA) - Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Tran Thanh Man had a meeting with Vietnam’s Honorary Consul in Torino Sandra Scagliotti as part of the top legislator's official visit to Italy.
Expressing his special impressions upon visiting Italy, a country rich in cultural traditions and beauty that maintains a longstanding friendship with Vietnam, NA Chairman Man said that his visit takes place at a time when Vietnam–Italy relations are developing strongly after more than 50 years of diplomatic ties and over a decade of the Strategic Partnership framework.
The two countries have maintained effective and comprehensive cooperation in numerous areas, including politics-diplomacy, trade-investment, culture, education-training, and defence-security, while expanding collaboration into new fields such as science-technology, innovation, environmental protection and climate change response, he noted.
Sharing details of the visit’s agenda, the NA leader said he will hold meetings and talks with Italy’s top leaders in the coming days. At these meetings, both sides are expected to discuss measures to further enhance comprehensive cooperation and deepen the Vietnam–Italy Strategic Partnership, with a view to upgrading bilateral relations in the future. He added that Vietnam will also propose that Italy continue facilitating connections among agencies, organisations and associations of both countries to strengthen practical and effective cooperation.
For her part, Scagliotti congratulated Chairman Man on his re-election as Chairman of the NA of Vietnam, she expressed confidence that under the leadership of Party General Secretary and State President To Lam and other newly consolidated key leaders, Vietnam will successfully implement strategic policies and enter a new era of development based on a self-reliant and resilient economy aimed at improving people’s well-being.
She said that Vietnam is not only a subject of historical and academic research for her but also a very special part in her heart. Expressing gratitude to the country and its people, she recalled completing her studies in Vietnam in 1989, noting that the determination and resilience of the Vietnamese people had inspired her political resolve and revolutionary ethics.
The greatest lesson she has drawn from Vietnam, she said, is that independence and freedom should never be compromised. Today, Vietnam has become a peaceful, prosperous and reform-oriented country that actively contributes to building a better world for all.
NA Chairman Man expressed appreciation for Scagliotti’s sincere affection for Vietnam and commended her positive role as Vietnam’s Honorary Consul in Torino. He also highlighted the contributions of people-to-people organisations such as the Italy–Vietnam Friendship Association, local friendship chapters, and the Italy–Vietnam Chamber of Commerce, as well as research and publications on Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh produced by the consular office and the Vietnam Study Centre in Torino.
The NA Chairman affirmed that the Party, State and people of Vietnam will never forget the valuable support of the Italian people during Vietnam’s struggle for national independence and reunification, as well as in its national development and building process.
Acknowledging Scagliotti’s proposals to further promote Vietnam’s image and people in the future, Chairman Man expressed his hope that the Honorary Consul, the Honorary Consul’s office and Italian friends would continue working closely with the Embassy of Vietnam in Italy in community activities and initiatives connected to Vietnam, thereby helping nurture friendship and serving as an important bridge to enhance cooperation between the two countries./.
