On the morning of July 26 (local time), at the Palazzo del Quirinale in Rome, Italian President Sergio Mattarella hosted a welcome ceremony for President Vo Van Thuong and his wife and high-ranking Vietnamese delegation.
Warmly welcoming the visit of President Thuong, President Mattarella affirmed that Italy attaches importance to Vietnam's position and role in the Asia-Pacific region.
Emphasizing the friendship and emotional attachment between the two peoples, the host President agreed together with Vietnam to strengthen the strategic partnership, contributing to the sustainable development in each country, and jointly responding to global challenges.
In reply, President Thuong stressed that Vietnam wishes and is determined to work with the Italian side to strengthen the relations between the two countries in various fields.
During their talks, the two State heads exchanged opinions, and agreed on major orientations and measures to strengthen the strategic partnership in a wide range of fields, from politics, economics to culture, science and technology, security and defence, climate change and food security.
The host leader announced with pleasure that the Italian Parliament had ratified the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement on the day his Vietnamese counterpart began the visit to Italy.
Regarding the East Sea issue, the two leaders reaffirmed that, disputes must be resolved by peaceful measures on the basis of international law, especially the UNCLOS 1982./.
