Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee Bui Dinh Long visited and worked in the Republic of Italy
On October 17, in Bologna province, the Nghe An provincial delegation attended the Vietnam - Italy local partnership and cooperation conference co-organized by the Vietnamese Embassy and the Emilia - Romagna regional government.
Attending the conference, on the Vietnamese side were Ambassador Duong Hai Hung; Mr. Nguyen Dong Trung - Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and leaders of the provinces: Kon Tum, Ha Nam. Leaders of Nghe An province had Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Bui Dinh Long attend.
On the Italian side, there were Mr. Alessio Mammi - Vice President of the Emilia-Romagna Region; Napoleone Cera - Member of the Puglia Regional Council, along with representatives of the Macerata province and the cities: Zeri, Filottrano, Prato, agencies, associations, and 150 business delegates of the Emilia-Romagna Region attending.
The Local Connection Conference is the first initiative held in the Republic of Italy to promote trade and investment cooperation between the two countries in the coming time.
At the conference, Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee Bui Dinh Long presented information on the geographical location, area, population, potential advantages, achievements in socio-economic development of the province, cooperation results between Nghe An and partners of the Republic of Italy; at the same time, emphasized the needs for cooperation in the coming time, especially in the fields of technology, mechanical industry, and new energy.
The Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee expressed his belief that the conference is an opportunity for localities to learn and seek cooperation opportunities, and at the same time hoped that delegates and businesses would take the time to visit and survey the potential advantages of Nghe An province in the fields of trade, investment and tourism. Nghe An province is committed to always accompanying and creating favorable conditions for Italian businesses to develop sustainably and long-term.
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Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to Italy Duong Hai Hung believes that the Conference will bring many good results in the working sessions and sideline contacts as well as in the long term.
Mr. Alessio Mammi - Vice President of Emilia-Romagna Region expressed his joy and honor to welcome delegates from Vietnam to attend the conference; at the same time expressed his hope that through this, understanding will be enhanced, exchanges and cooperation agreements between the two sides will be promoted.
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Mr. Napoleone Cera - Member of the Puglia Regional Council emphasized that, based on the relationship between Vietnam and Italy over the past 50 years, the Puglia Region is confident in the opportunity to develop cooperation between Vietnamese localities and this conference is an opportunity and prospect for localities of the two countries to meet and discuss cooperation prospects in various fields. The Puglia Region, with its central location in the Mediterranean region, has developed a large international cooperation network, including Vietnam.
Before the conference, the delegation of Nghe An province attended 4 working sessions with the leaders of Bologna city, the Italian Confederation of Commerce, Industry, Crafts and Agriculture and a number of Italian business associations. In particular, the working session with the Vice President of Emilia-Romagna Region and the Councilor of Puglia Region. The meetings helped the two sides learn about the potential and advantages, and suggest suitable areas of cooperation in the future.
Emilia-Romagna is a region with a very large number of products with geographical indications, worth nearly 4 billion Euros, accounting for about 40% of the national value, famous for its manufacturing industry with products with globally famous brands such as: Lamborghini, Ducati, IMA SPA, Marposs.
In addition, the region is also the food and agricultural center of the country. The agricultural sector is the second largest export sector after the mechanical and mechatronics industries.
In the Emilia-Romagna region, the province of Bologna ranks first in terms of export ratio and number of active companies, 59% of exports come from high-end specialty products, exports to Vietnam account for 30% of the region's turnover and more than 4% of the national turnover. The main export items are machinery and equipment.
Previously, from October 14 to 16, the delegation of Nghe An province and localities of Ha Nam and Kon Tum visited and worked with the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy; visited and worked with Unitec Spa Group; Italy-Vietnam Trade Association and Delta Del Po National Park.
Vietnam is Italy's largest trading partner in ASEAN, with a 22% increase in 2022 alone after the two countries signed the FTA. In 2023, in the context of negative export growth to Europe, Vietnam's export turnover to this Southern European country still increased by 1%, and in the first 6 months of 2024, it increased by 9.5%.
However, Italy's investment in Vietnam is still low, ranking 33rd among countries investing in Vietnam. In 2024, however, the two countries are actively promoting cooperation; Italy has opened representative offices of two very strong financial institutions in Vietnam, namely the Export Credit Fund with a capital of 60 billion Euros for import-export enterprises of the two countries and the Pension Fund with 400 billion Euros for Italian enterprises to invest in politically stable economies with high trust to generate profits and preserve pension benefits.
The above activities are expected to attract a wave of Italian businesses investing in Vietnam. Another favorable condition to promote trade and investment cooperation between the two countries is that Vietnam Airlines is expected to open a direct flight to Italy in July 2025.
The cooperation results between Nghe An and Italy are still modest, with export turnover to Italy in 2023 reaching nearly 1.6 million USD and import turnover reaching more than 400 thousand USD. However, the two sides have many similarities and many potential strengths for cooperation.
The visit and work of Vice Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee Bui Dinh Long in Italy this time aims to promote cooperation between the two sides in the coming time; through activities to contact organizations, associations, and Italian enterprises, creating a bridge to introduce enterprises to learn, invest, and do business in Nghe An province.