Milan (VNA) – The Ministry of ForeignAffairs and the Embassy of Vietnam in Italy have recently held a programmenamely “Vietnam Provincial Roadshow in Italy” as part of activities to celebratethe 45th founding anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties and fifthanniversary of the bilateral strategic partnership.

The programme took place from June 28-29 inMilan, a metropolis in Italy’s northern Lombardy region, with the participationof Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung, Chairman of the CanTho People’s Council Pham Van Hieu, Secretary of the Phu Yen Party Committeeand Chairman of the Phu Yen People’s Council Huynh Tan Viet, and Chairman of theQuang Ngai People’s Committee Tran Ngoc Cang.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Cao Chinh Thienalong with representatives from the two sides’ ministries, departments andbusinesses were engaged in the event.

The Vietnamese delegation also attended aseminar on economic opportunities between Lombardy region and localities fromVietnam, which drew over 50 Italian leading enterprises.

The guests later visited some industrialproduction facilities and innovative start-up centres in Lombardy as well asworked with representatives from Italy-Vietnam friendship associations fromdifferent regions and cities in Italy.

Nguyen Duc Chung, Chairman of the Hanoi People’sCommittee, and Enrico Letta, former Italian Prime Minister and President of theItaly-ASEAN Association, agreed with the proposal of hosting a high-levelconference on cooperation between ASEAN and Italy in Hanoi in May 2019 with theparticipation of senior officials from the Italian government and around 300leading businesses from the European country.

The department of external affairs under theMinistry of Foreign Affairs and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam(ICHAM) signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation to supportVietnamese and Italian localities and enterprises to enhance partnership andconnectivity.

Lombardy is a big economic centre in Italy withgross domestic product (GDP) of 450 billion USD, making up nearly 25 percent ofthe country’s GDP. The region also accounts for over 20 percent of Italy’strade turnover and it is one of the leading economic regions in the EuropeanUnion (EU).

The cooperation agreement between Lombardy andVietnam signed in 2010 has created opportunities to promote bilateral trade,which topped 1.7 billion USD in 2017.

The Italian region attaches great importance andprioritise to promoting trade exchange and investment cooperation withVietnamese localities, especially in the fields of infrastructure, machinery,mechanical engineering, high technology, food, health care, pharmacy, fashion,environment, and technical consultancy.

Locality-to-locality cooperation andpeople-to-people exchange are one of the priorities in the Vietnam-Italystrategic partnership, significantly contributing to the reinforcement andenhancement of bilateral collaboration in all realms from politics, externalaffairs, and economy to culture, education, science, technology and sustainabledevelopment.

Particularly, as Vietnam and the EU are pushingahead with the ratification and implementation of their free trade agreement,this is an excellent opportunity for Vietnamese and Italian localities andbusinesses to tighten cooperation and trade in the fields of their strengths.

Italy is currently the fourth biggest tradepartner of Vietnam in the EU while Vietnam is the biggest trade partner ofItaly in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The two sides welcomed the effective cooperationbetween the pairs: Hanoi - Lazio region/Rome city, Ho Chi Minh City - Milan andTornio cities, Hai Phong city - Liguria region/Genoa city; Vinh Phuc province -Tuscany region, Binh Duong and Emilia-Romagna region, Ba Ria – Vung Tau andVeneto region.

They are promoting the establishment ofcooperative relations between Italian localities and Vietnam’s Can Tho city,Quang Ngai and Phu Yen provinces, focusing on economy, agriculture, culture andtourism.-VNA