Rome (VNA) – Italian media ran manyarticles highlighting the State visit to Italy by Vietnamese President Vo VanThuong from July 25-27, stating that this event aims to leverage strengths and potentialto promote cooperation between the two countries. 
           
In an article, Agenzia Stampa Italia newspaper stressed thatsince the establishment of diplomatic relations on March 23, 1973, the Vietnam –Italy relationship has developed rapidly.

After setting up a strategic partnership ten years ago, thetwo countries have actively promoted practical and effective cooperation in allfields, especially advancing political and diplomatic ties, the article said.

Within the framework of the strategic partnership, the two countrieshave coordinated to hold politicalconsultations and meetings of the joint committeeson economic cooperation, and science and technology cooperation.

Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic over thepast two years, the bilateral relationship has been maintained and sustainedthrough the flexible and adaptive efforts of both sides.  

Italy has consistently promoted multi-faceted cooperation withVietnam, considering Vietnam as a priority in the Southeast Asian region todevelop relations.

At multilateral forums,Italy and Vietnam often collaborate and support each other, and advocatepeace, stability, security, freedom of navigation and aviation, and respect forinternational law.

The newspaper also reviewed other cooperation areasbetween Vietnam and Italy, including connections in culture and education,science – technology, tourism, and cooperation between localities.

The two countries regularly coordinate to organize variousactivities and initiatives to introduce and promote their culture, helping bringItalian culture closer to the Vietnamese people and vice versa.

The two sides have developed a science and technologycooperation plan for 2021-2023 with 11 joint research projects, promoting science-technology as a pillar of cooperation within theframework of the Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership.
 
In Vietnam's tourism development strategy, Italy is identifiedas one of the key markets with great potential. The number of Italian touristsvisiting Vietnam grew at an average rate of 15% during the 2015 - 2019 period.

Meanwhile, L’Identità Newspaper stressed that the Vietnamese state leader will have meetings with ItalianPresident Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
           
According to the newspaper, after half a century, the bilateral relationshave flourished across all fields, both in bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

It also highlighted cooperation between Vietnamese and Italianlocalities, citing the twinning relations between Hanoi and Lazio, Binh Duong - Emilia-Romagna, Ho ChiMinh City - Turin, and Vinh Phuc - Tuscany.

 Vietnam is a key trading partner of Italy in ASEAN, while Italyis the fourth largest trade partner of Vietnam within the European Union (EU).In 2022, the two-way trade hit a record high ever at 6.2 billion USD, representinga year-on-year increase of 11%.

According to the newspaper, the Italian government has includedVietnam in its list of 20 countries to continue promoting trade and investment tiesuntil 2030. Many Italian investors operating in the processing sector haveinvested effectively and gained success in the Vietnamese market./.