Rome (VNA) – A seminar highlighting economic cooperation between Lombardy regionof Italy and Vietnamese cities and provinces took place in Milan city on June29.

As part of series of activities marking the 45th anniversary ofVietnam-Italy diplomatic relations, the event was jointly organised by theauthorities of Lombardy region, the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s Department ofProvincial Foreign Affairs and the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy.

In hisopening speech, Altitonante, a representative from the Lombardy administration,stated that Vietnam is a potential market for the region’s businesses.

With its advanced science and technology in production and services, Lombardyhas always paid attention to fostering its businesses’ investment andtechnological transfer activities in promising markets like Vietnam.

This is an important development objective of local enterprises, he affirmed.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Cao Chinh Thien said that despite recentpositive developments, cooperation between Vietnam and Italy, especially ineconomy and trade, is still yet to match fruitful bilateral political relationsas well as potential and expectations of the two nations. 

He stated that Vietnam and the EU are working toward the signing andratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and Vietnam isimplementing policies to foster and expand relations with countries around theworld, especially those it has strategic partnership with like Italy.

It is a suitable time for Italian and Vietnamese localities, businesses andinvestors to study collaboration opportunities and grasp information on eachother’s markets, particularly in areas that the two countries have demand forcooperation such as transport infrastructure, energy, industry and wastetreatment, he noted.

At the seminar, representatives from Vietnamese localities and businessesintroduced their development potential and preferential policies on investmentattraction while the Italians presented their production and businessactivities as well as their demands for expanding cooperation with andpromoting technological transfer for Vietnamese enterprises.

With a young population, trained workforce with low cost, and notably the rapidgrowth of middle and upper classes, Vietnam is an attractive destination forItalian investors, said participants.

Nguyen Duc Chung, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, stressed that Italyis the fourth largest trade partner of Vietnam in the EU while Vietnam is thebiggest trade partner of Italy in ASEAN.

He expressed his belief that once the EVFTA takes effect, trade relationsbetween the two nations will further develop, adding that Lombardy region’sstrengths are suitable to development demands of Vietnamese localities.

Hanoi and other localities in Vietnam are actively improving their investmentclimate and stepping up administrative reforms targeting people and businesses.They wish to cooperate with Lombardy region in areas of its strengths such astourism, food processing, construction, pharmaceutical technology, renewableenergy, heritage conservation, and smart city building.

At the end of the seminar, representatives of Vietnamese cities and provinceswitnessed the signing of an agreement on cooperation in fostering connectivitybetween Vietnamese and Italian localities and businesses by the VietnameseForeign Ministry’s Department of Provincial Foreign Affairs and the ItalianChamber of Commerce in Vietnam.-VNA