Vietnam’s Honorary Consul in Turin, Sandra Scagliotti (first, right), speaks at the gathering (Photo: VNA)Rome (VNA) – The Office of Vietnam’s Honorary Consul in the Italian city of Turinheld a gathering on February 17 on the occasion of Vietnam’s traditional LunarNew Year.
Addressing Turin officials and a large number ofItalian people and Vietnamese expatriates, Vietnam’s Honorary Consul SandraScagliotti praised the beauty of the Southeast Asian nation, which boasts adiverse culture, and recalled her memories of the Vietnamese people.
She also took this chance to call on Italianpeople and the Vietnamese community to continue their efforts to strengthen thetwo countries’ friendship.
At the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy CaoChinh Thien presented his country’s recent attainments, including those inexternal ties and social, economic and cultural development.
He underlined the sound bilateral relationswhich have been affirmed and solidified during recent high-ranking visits,including a State visit to Italy by President Tran Dai Quang in November 2016.Those visits illustrate both sides’ political resolve to intensify theVietnam-Italy strategic partnership.
He expressed his belief that the countries willhave more practical cooperation activities in the time ahead.
Regarding economic ties, Thien noted bilateraltrade has risen sharply in recent years, especially since the strategicpartnership was set up in 2013, reaching 4.6 billion USD in 2016. Italy is thefifth biggest EU trade partner of Vietnam, which in turn is the largest partnerof the European nation among ASEAN countries.
Turin is a big city in the northwest of Italyand also a mechanical and manufacturing hub of the country. It is also the onlyItalian city with an honorary consul office of Vietnam.-VNA
VNA
