Rome (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador to ItalyNguyen Thi Bich Hue paid working visits to Lombardy and Piedmont, two keyeconomic regions of the European country, and Turin city on January 27-28 toexplore cooperation chances between Vietnam and northern Italian localities.

Talking to President of the Lombardy regionalgovernment Attilio Fontana and officials of Piedmont, Hue affirmed theintensive development of the Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership, especiallyvia high-ranking delegation exchanges in 2019.
 
She stressed that the two countries are becomingincreasingly important to each other as seen through the fact that Vietnam isthe largest trade partner and ranks second among investment partners of Italyin the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Bilateral trade reached5.4 billion USD in 2019, including about 1.6 billion USD of trade betweenLombardy and Vietnam.

As the European Parliament is preparing toratify the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the ambassador said thisagreement is an important document which will create considerable opportunitiesfor businesses and economic links in some mutually beneficial fields likemechanics, automobile, pharmaceutical, hi-tech agriculture, food industry,infrastructure, transport, innovation and design.

Hue also highlighted the encouraging outcomes ofthe connections in higher education and research, considering this as a catalystfor sustainable cooperation between the two countries. She expressed her hopethat the regions’ administrations will create more conditions and grant morescholarships for Vietnamese students.

For his part, Lombardy President Attilio Fontanasaid the sound development of Vietnam-Italy relations is a very importantfactor for not only Vietnam, but also Italy and Lombardy.

The regional government is always ready tosupport Vietnamese firms that wish to develop in Lombardy, and it hopes formore concrete cooperation projects for the time ahead, he noted.

A leader of Piedmont also voiced hope forstronger ties with Vietnam, particularly after the EVFTA takes effect, notingthat this region is ready to assist Vietnamese businesses who want to learnabout the spheres Piedmont has strength in like mechanics, aerospace, healthcare and research.

Meanwhile, Turin Mayor Chiara Appendinoemphasised the potential for cooperation with Vietnam and hoped to implementthe cooperation deal with Ho Chi Minh City in such areas as tourism, transportand urban management.

During her trips, Ambassador Hue also hadworking sessions with the mayor of Pianezza and representatives of thePininfarina S.P.A company, and joined Lunar New Year gatherings of Vietnamesepeople in Milan and Pianezza./.