Meeting with President Vo Van Thuong, Italian President announces good news

On the morning of July 26, after the official welcoming ceremony, President Vo Van Thuong had a small meeting and talks with Italian President Sergio Mattarella.

President Vo Van Thuong emphasized that Vietnam always remembers and is grateful for the valuable support of the Italian people in the past struggle for national independence and reunification as well as in construction and development today.

The two leaders emphasized the importance of the visit on the occasion of the two countries celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Strategic Partnership framework.

President Sergio Mattarella agreed to work with Vietnam to promote the Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership, contributing to sustainable development in each country and jointly responding to global challenges.

The Italian President was impressed by the mutual support and assistance between the two countries, especially Vietnam's recent sending of masks and many medical supplies to help Italy in the fight against Covid-19, which is a manifestation of good feelings and friendship.

The two leaders informed each other about the situation in each country and discussed major directions and measures to promote the Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership.

The two sides actively exchanged delegations and effectively implemented the economic, trade and investment cooperation mechanism, with two-way trade reaching more than 6.2 billion USD in 2022. Vietnam is Italy's largest trading partner in ASEAN. Italy is Vietnam's leading partner in Europe and ranks 33rd out of 143 countries and territories with direct investment in Vietnam.

Cooperation in culture, arts, science and technology, education and training, etc. has also made significant progress in recent years.

In terms of diplomacy, the two sides agreed to promote the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high-level delegations on the State, Government and National Assembly channels; and continue to effectively implement bilateral cooperation mechanisms.

In terms of economy, the Italian President agreed with Vietnam's proposal that the two sides continue to effectively implement the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). He also supported the European Commission (EC) to soon remove the IUU yellow card on Vietnam's seafood exports to promote economic and trade cooperation and contribute to economic recovery.

The President of Italy was pleased to announce that the Italian Parliament ratified the Vietnam – EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) on the same day that President Vo Van Thuong paid a State visit to Italy, creating a foundation for Italy to increase investment in Vietnam.

The President thanked and emphasized that this is very good news and believes that the ratification of this Agreement will bring benefits to businesses and people of the two countries, contributing to promoting trade and investment cooperation in the coming time. President Vo Van Thuong asked Italy to have a voice so that the remaining EU countries can soon ratify this Agreement.

The two leaders agreed to enhance people-to-people exchanges through cooperation in education and training, culture and arts, tourism, and cooperation between localities; effectively implement specialized cooperation programs between the two governments; promote cooperation between universities and student exchanges; and more.

The two leaders supported the establishment of cultural centers in each country to promote understanding and solidarity between the peoples of the two countries.

President Vo Van Thuong asked the Italian Government to continue to pay attention and create favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community to successfully integrate into the country. The Italian President assessed that the Vietnamese community is hardworking, dynamic, and integrates well into Italian society.

The two sides agreed to expand cooperation in security and defense; science and technology; and continue to support each other at multilateral forums such as the ASEAN-EU cooperation framework, ASEM, the United Nations, etc. to respond to global issues such as climate change and food security.

President Vo Van Thuong and President Sergio Mattarella discussed a number of international and regional issues such as cooperation between Italy and ASEAN, between Vietnam and the European Union (EU), the Indian Ocean - Pacific region, etc.

Regarding the East Sea issue, the two leaders reaffirmed the importance of ensuring peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, and resolving disputes by peaceful means on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).