Secretary General of the Emilia-Romagna region’s commerce chamber Claudio Pasini (standing) speaks at the working session with the Vietnamese delegation (Photo: VNA) Rome (VNA) – A trade promotion programme is underwayin Bologna and Rome cities from July 23-26, aiming to boost Vietnamese exportsto Italy’s distribution network via the Coop Italia and Conad supermarketchains.
The programme is organised by the Ministry ofIndustry and Trade (MoIT), the trade office of the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy,authorities of Emilia-Romagna and Lazio regions, the federation of Italiancooperatives LegaCoop, the system of Italian consumer cooperatives Coop Italiaand the Agro-Food Centre of Rome (CAR).
In Bologna, the business delegation of Vietnam,led by Director of the MoIT’s European markets department Dang Hoang Hai, metwith the Emilia-Romagna region’s chamber of commerce and Coop Italia.
Secretary General of the region’s commercechamber Claudio Pasini lauded the development potential of Southeast Asiancountries, including Vietnam.
He said Vietnam is a strongly growing economythat attracts many foreign investors, including those from Emilia-Romagna.Relations between Vietnam and Italy have been enhanced over the past decade, spurringbilateral trade.
Vietnamese goods have increased in both quantityand quality in recent years, he said, adding that the country also has a young skilledworkforce. These factors have helped Vietnam to success in Europe and theworld.
[Vietnam seeks stronger economic links with Italy]
Pasini noted the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreementis expected to take effect in 2018, which will facilitate bilateral economicand trade ties. The Emilia-Romagna region has set up a representative office inVietnam’s southern province of Binh Duong. Its exports to the country reached179.5 million USD in 2016 and are expected to grow rapidly.
For his part, Director of the European marketsdepartment Dang Hoang Hai said this is the second time the MoIT has held atrade promotion programme in Italy. The activity is held within the frameworkof the two countries’ joint committee and the plan to boost Vietnamese firms’direct participation in foreign distribution networks by 2020.
During their trip to Italy, the Vietnamesedelegation visited CAR, the biggest centre for agricultural food distributionin Rome and central Italy. The centre is also one of Europe’s most importantdistribution hubs.
In 2016, trade between Vietnam and Italysurpassed 4.68 billion USD, up 8 percent from 2015, including 3.27 billion USDof Vietnam’s exports.-VNA
VNA
