Italian, Vietnamese leaders exchange messages marking ties

VGP – State President Tran Dai Quang and Italian President Sergio Mattarella on March 22 exchanged their messages of greetings on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of Viet Nam-Italy diplomatic relations (March 23, 1973-2018).

March 23, 2018 3:27 PM GMT+7

The same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano also exchanged messages to congratulate each other on the special occasion.

Over the past 45 years, Viet Nam and Italy have enjoyed flourishing partnership in a multitude of fields, especially economy.

Viet Nam has become Italy’s largest trade partner in ASEAN with two-way trade increasing nearly 9% annually to US$4.7 billion in 2016.

Both sides are targeting US$6 billion in two-way trade for 2017-2018. Viet Nam primarily exports footwear, aquatic products, coffee and apparel to Italy, and imports mechanical machinery, transportation vehicles and leather materials.