An Italian diplomat has urged Vietnamese businesses to seek information and link with Italian partners to boost investment cooperation.

Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Lorenzo Angeloni underlined the time-honoured development cooperation between the two countries at a press briefing introducing Italy’s development cooperation projects in Vietnam.

The Italian government has funded 76 million EUR in 21 development cooperation projects in Vietnam, the ambassador said.

In the next three years, the government will loan 30 million EUR and donate 4.5 million EUR to a number of projects that were agreed at a recent meeting of the Vietnam-Italy committee for inter-governmental cooperation, he noted.

According to the diplomat, the projects mostly focus on health, education, vocational training, water, environmental hygiene, and trade in the central provinces of Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien – Hue and Quang Nam and Da Nang city.

The ambassador said Vietnam and Italy have a lot of potential for cooperation and suggested the two sides establish joint ventures.

On the occasion, Eviva, a leading Vietnamese tour operator, proposed the archeological area of My Son World Heritage in Quang Nam province and Tam Giang lagoon in Thua Thien – Hue province, where Italy is carrying out its development cooperation projects, be part of a sustainable tourism programme, which will start from September 8-11./.