Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Antonio Alessandro(Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnamese Government will create favourableconditions for Italian enterprises to invest in the Southeast Asian country,helping increase the trade value between the two nations, Prime Minister NguyenXuan Phuc has said.
Hosting a reception for Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Antonio Alessandro inHanoi on April 1, PM Phuc said that the two countries have enjoyed soundrelations over the past 46 years, particularly after they established astrategic partnership in 2013.
He expressed his hope that the Italian diplomat will do his utmost to makepractical contributions to boosting bilateral cooperation, especially in thefields of economy and trade.
The two-way trade value of 5 billion USD in 2018 is still modest in comparisonto the collaborative potential between the two countries, PM Phuc said, recommendingthat both sides increase business delegation exchanges in order to resolve bottlenecksthat hinder their cooperation.
PM Phuc highlighted the importance of the European Union-Vietnam Free TradeAgreement (EVFTA) to cooperation between Vietnam and the EU, including Italy, andhoped to receive Italy’s support so that the deal can be ratified soon.
Hailing Alessandro’s suggestion to open a Vietnam-Italy non-stop flight, PMPhuc endorsed the idea which, he said, will help enhance exchange andcooperation between the two nations.
The Italian Ambassador said that the two countries could increase collaborationin the tourism sector, with Italy granting 10,000 visas for Vietnamese touristsin 2018, while some 65,000 Italians visited the Southeast Asian country in thesame year.
Alessandro stressed that he would make efforts to accelerate the opening of theVietnam-Italy direct flight during his tenure, revealing that the ItalianEmbassy is in discussions with several airlines on the plan.
Furthermore, Alessandro suggested promoting educational collaboration, withmany deals already having been signed between universities of the two nations.
The Italian Government has plans to provide development assistance for Vietnamin the fields of the environment, training, and energy, he added.
In addition, he expressed his wish to strengthen statistics cooperation withVietnam, saying that the Italian National Institute of Statistics could helpVietnam with informal economic statistics. –VNA
VNA
