PM Nguyễn Tấn Dũng embarks on trips to Italy and World Economic Forum
VNGOVNet – At the invitation of the Prime Minister of the Italian Republic, Mr. Romano Prodi, PM Nguyễn Tấn Dũng on January 25 left Vietnam on a visit to Italy. During this trip, he will pay a courtesy visit to Pope Benedict XVI and hold talks with the Vatican Cardinal Secretary of State. Then, the Vietnamese leader will attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos from January 26-27.
PM Nguyễn Tấn Dũng
The visit to Italy by PM Nguyễn Tấn Dũng and the Vietnamese delegation is expected to make the politician and public communities in Italy and Western countries better understand Vietnam’s renovation process and its socio-economic and foreign policies as well as ways of boosting trade, investment, cultural, educational and tourist cooperation between Vietnam and Italy.
A corner of Roma (Italy)
Italy has been active in enhancing the partnership between Vietnam and the European Union and supporting Vietnam on international fora. It is now the 9th biggest of the EU investors in Vietnam with 22 projects, worth totally US$ 55.9 million. Trade turnover between the two countries increased rapidly from US$ 320 million in 1996 to US$ 700 million in 2005 and over US$ 1,130 million in 2006. Italian investments in Vietnam involve enameled tiles, wood processing, elastic thread, wooden furniture, Perfetti candies, refrigerator assembly, and pineapple and tomato processing.
Davos City (Switzerland)
After the Italy visit, PM Nguyễn Tấn Dũng will, at the invitation of Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Mr. Klaus Schwab, attend the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Under the theme “Shaping Global Agenda – The Shifting Power Equation”, the meeting hold discussions on four topics: Demystifying Productivity and Growth; Addressing Global Fault Lines; Exploring Identity and the Communication Disconnect; and Leading in a Networked World.
On the 40th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN, the WEF will convene a specific plenary meeting on ASEAN with the attendance of the Vietnamese PM, Malaysian PM and Filipino President.
Vietnam and the WEF started their relation in 1989. Vietnam used to send its Deputy PMs or Ministers to some of the WEF Annual and East Asia meetings. The WEF inviting PM Nguyễn Tấn Dũng to the 2007 meeting proves the keen interest of the WEF and hundreds of world leading syndicates in a success story of the dynamic Vietnam.
At the WEF, the Vietnamese PM is expected to discuss and deliver his opinions on a wide range of global issues in economic, political, science and technology spheres and display a dynamic Vietnam amidst a deeper integration into the world economy. He is scheduled to talk with about 30 world leading multinational corporations during the forum.
By Xuân Hồng
