An art performance at the ceremony (Photo: VNA)In his remarks, Chairman of the People’s CommitteePhan Van Mai highlighted the increasingly close ties between the two countries,saying over the past 50 years, the bilateral relationship has grown actively across spheres, both bilaterally andmultilaterally.
The good traditional friendship has also beenconsolidated and enhanced, the official added.
Notably, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnampresented Italy with more than 300,000 masks, while Italy donated 2.8 milliondoses of vaccines to the Southeast Asian nation.
This vividly demonstrates the intensive andeffective strategic partnership and friendship between the two countries, hesaid.
HCM City, for its part, has actively worked topromote cooperation with Italy, Mai noted, adding that the relations betweenHCM City and Italy have reaped achievements in trade, investment, education and training, culture, and tourism.
According to the official, the two-way trade reached591 million USD last year. For investment, as of February 20, 2023, Italy ran64 projects in the southern metropolis with a total registered capital of 85million USD, ranking 26 out of the 117 countries and territories investing there.
However, the results have yet to match the potential ofboth sides, Mai pointed out.
Regarding cooperation prospects, he said HCM City servesas a gateway for Italian businesses to access the Association of SoutheastAsian Nations (ASEAN) and other markets through free trade agreements to whichVietnam is a member.
Delegates to the event (Photo: VNA)With strong economic recovery and a growing middleclass, HCM City is a promising market for Italian goods, the official added.
Economic cooperation remains a priority in therelations between the two sides, he said, noting that both are working towardshigh, green, clean, and environmentally friendly technologies.
Mai considered the compatibility in economicdevelopment orientations an important premise for the two sides in raising thebilateral trade to 6 billion USD in 2022, expressing his firm beliefthat the target of 10 billion USD is within reach.
The official said he hopes that cultural andculinary exchanges between Vietnam and Italy will be enhanced in the future,contributing to strengthening solidarity between the two peoples.
Italian Consul General inHCM City Enrico Padula highlighted multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnamand Italy, particularly technological transfer.
Speaking of Vietnam’s efforts in building a greeneconomy, the diplomat said Italy would help the country with technologies andprofessional skills to carry out relevant ambitious projects.
He also suggested the two countries cooperate in thespace industry in service of agriculture, natural disaster prevention, and themitigation of climate change consequences in rivers and coastal areas.
Cultural collaboration always plays an importantrole in Vietnam-Italy relations, covering music, theatre, and cinema, hesaid, stressing the partnership between the universities of the two countries.
Italy is actively engaging in heritage conservationprojects in Vietnam’s central region and hopes to further cooperate with thecountry in cultural heritage and architecture.
According to the Consul General, on the occasion ofthe 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Italy’s offshore patrol ship FrancescoMorosini is scheduled to anchor at Nha Rong Port in HCM City this May./.
VNA
