Top legislator hails growing Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan highlighted the development of the Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership while receiving Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Enzo Moavero Milanesi in Hanoi on May 7.

Welcoming her guest’s official visit, Chairwoman Ngan noted the strategic partnership has been developing in all aspects, including politics-diplomacy, trade-investment, culture-education, science-technology, and security-defence.

She said the potential for bilateral cooperation remains huge, especially in trade-investment, noting that Italy has strengths in industrial production, particularly mechanical engineering, high technology, infrastructure-transport development, and energy, which are also the fields Vietnam is looking for cooperation.

This June, Vietnam and Italy will co-organise the third high-level dialogue on Italy-ASEAN economic relations in Hanoi, gathering many big businesses from both sides. This will be a chance to enhance economic and trade ties between Italy and ASEAN countries, including Vietnam – the biggest trade partner of the European nation in ASEAN, she said.

Sharing the view on the fruitful relations in many areas, Minister Milanesi said as a founding member of the European Union, Italy has supported Vietnam during the negotiation on the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). It hopes the deal will be signed and ratified soon so as to promote trade and investment links between the EU, including Italy, and Vietnam.

He highly valued Vietnam’s role and stature in the region, noting that despite geographical distance, the countries have been drawn closer thanks to scientific and technological development. They have also shared many common viewpoints on foreign, economic-trade, and security-defence policies.

Italy can strengthen cooperation with Vietnam in its strong fields of industrial production, mechanics and precise automation, Milanesi said.

He added most of companies in Italy are small and medium-sized firms, which is an advantage since they are highly dynamic and active. His country is ready to share its knowledge about the management of small and medium enterprises with Vietnam.

At the meeting, Chairwoman Ngan appreciated Italy’s official development assistance for Vietnam, saying that its cooperation projects have been helping with her country’s sustainable development efforts.

She also asked both sides to continue expanding cooperation to the fields they have strengths in and demand for.

On this occasion, the host also asked Minister Milanesi to deliver the invitation to visit Vietnam to the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of Italy.

Nhandan