The trade ties between Vietnam and Italian industrial hubs are being further promoted with promising results, heard a press conference in Bologna on October 31.

Chaired by the Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Nguyen Hoang Long and President of the Legislative Assembly of Italy’s Emilia Romagna region Palma Costi, the event aims to review activities of the Vietnam ’s economic cooperation office in the region.

Two-way trade was forecast to reach around 300 million EUR (390 million USD) this year, up 20 percent on an annual basis.

President Costi and 20 local businesses major in mechanical manufacturing participated in many economic forums and 80 business-to-business meetings in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and southern province of Binh Duong during their working visit to Vietnam from October 14 to18.

At the meeting, Ambassador Long and President Costi agreed on 2014 action plan of Vietnam ’s economic cooperation office to intensify bilateral cooperation in economics, trade and investment in a steady manner.

Emilia Romagna, home of 450,000 businesses, is one of the leading developed regions in Italy and Europe . The area’s export volume is ranked second place among Italian localities.

The administrative region of northern Italy is also a centre for automobile production, home of automotive companies such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati.-VNA