Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and Italyhave deepened cooperation since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties45 years ago. 

In politics-diplomacy, Italy has since the 1990s backed thestrengthening of ties between Vietnam and the European Union and thenormalisation of ties between Vietnam and international financial, commercialand currency organisations.

Italy considers Vietnam a priority country inSoutheast Asia and a destination for Italian firms.

On January 21, 2013, Vietnam and Italysigned a Joint Statement on the establishment of strategic partnership on theoccasion of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s visit to Italy.

Vietnam was the first country that both ItalianPresident Sergio Mattarea and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi visited aftertaking office in 2015 and 2014, respectively. During exchanges, Italian leaderswished that Vietnam would continue to be a bridge connecting the country withASEAN.

From fourth place, Vietnam has becomeItaly’s largest trade partner in ASEAN, surpassing economic powerhouses such asSingapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Two-way trade rose nearly 9 percent annuallyto 4.7 billion USD in 2016.

Both sides are working to lift two-way tradeto 6 billion USD for 2017-2018. Vietnam mainly exports footwear, aquaticproducts, coffee and apparel to Italy and imports mechanical machinery,transportation vehicles and leather materials.

The European Union – Vietnam Free TradeAgreement (EVFTA), which takes effect this year, will further facilitatebilateral economic and trade links.

As of February 2018, Italy ranked 31st out of 128 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 88 projectsworth more than 388 million USD. The Italian government has added Vietnam intoits list of 10 emerging markets prioritised for trade and investment ties.

The two nations established the JointCommittee for Economic Cooperation which convened its first meeting in Hanoi inOctober 2014, the second in October 2015, the third in November 2016 and thefourth in November 2017.

The European country provided officialdevelopment assistance (ODA) for Vietnam from the 1980s in the fields of watersupply and drainage, environment protection, human resources development,health care and institution support.

The Inter-Committee on Vietnam-ItalyDevelopment Cooperation resumed a meeting in Rome in December 2009 and adoptedseveral projects in priority fields of health care, environment protection andsupport for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

In March 2014, Italy switched from ODAprovision to support programmes such as vocational training, water resourcesmanagement and support for SMEs.

Italy has committed funding to a project to improvethe capacity of manufacturing and competiveness of SMEs in Ho Chi Minh City,Dong Nai and Binh Duong provinces, and one on job creation and social inclusionin Vietnamese vocational training schools.

During a press conference introducing theannual Regional Convention of Italian Chambers of Commerce in Asia and SouthAfrica on April 3, 2017, Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Cecilia Piccioni said firmswould invest more in Vietnam once the EVFTA takes effect this year.

In cultural ties, the Italian governmentpartnered with UNESCO to assist Vietnam in the restoration of My Son relic siteat a total cost of more than 1.5 million USD, and educate archeologists, architects,preservation experts and managerial staff on cultural relic preservation tointernational standards.

Both sides also regularly held culturalweeks and months in Vietnam and Italy such as Vietnam cultural festival in Romein 2006 and 2007, “Near and Far” in Udine in 2007, Year of Italian Culture inVietnam and Italy –Vietnam Cultural Programme in 2011.

They held Vietnam Year in Italy and Italy Year in Vietnam in 2013 on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of bilateraldiplomatic ties. Vietnam joined the Global Expo 2015 in Milan from May 1 –October 31, 2015.

In education, the Italian Foreign Ministryprovides post-tertiary and Italian language scholarships for Vietnam each yearand Italian language training courses in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The two countries signed cooperation deals for 72 education-training projects.

The European nation is now home to nearly5,000 Vietnamese nationals, mostly in northern Italian provinces with plenty ofjob opportunities in industry.

Addressing a ceremony celebrating the 72nd anniversary of National Day of Vietnam, President of the Italian Chamber ofDeputies, Senator Pier Ferdinando Casini said the past achievements lay thefoundation for the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties andthe fifth anniversary of Vietnam – Italy strategic partnership in 2018, markingimportant milestones in bilateral ties.-VNA