Official welcome ceremony held in Rome for Vietnamese President

Italian President Sergio Mattarella chaired an official welcome ceremony for Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong, who is on a state visit to Italy, at the Quirinale Palace in Rome on July 26.

After the welcome ceremony, President Sergio Mattarella held talks with President Vo Van Thuong.

Over the last 50 years, Vietnam-Italy relations have developed fruitfully and comprehensively across fields, and in both bilateral and multilateral cooperation aspects, especially since the two countries established a strategic partnership on the occasion of the state visit to Italy by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong in 2013.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency, Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Antonio Alessandro said that the two sides will exchange and can support each other a lot, because Italy is a founding member of the European Union (EU) and a member of the Group of Seven (G7), while Vietnam is a prominent member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and also one of the most dynamic economies in the Indo-Pacific region.

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Duong Hai Hung, this is the first state visit by President Vo Van Thuong to a member nation of G7 and the EU, and a strategic partner of Vietnam.

The visit takes place at a time when Vietnam and Italy are jointly celebrating the 50th founding anniversary of the diplomatic ties, and 10 years of the strategic partnership, he said.

The Italian government included Vietnam in the list of 20 countries prioritised for trade and investment promotion until 2030.