PM receives Italian Ambassador to VN

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc  receives Italian Ambassador to Viet Nam Antonio Alessandro, Ha Noi, April 1, 2019

At the reception, the Italian Ambassador said that the two countries could increase collaboration in the tourism sector, with Italy granting 10,000 visas for Vietnamese tourists in 2018, while some 65,000 Italians visited the Southeast Asian country in the same year.

He stressed that he would make efforts to accelerate the opening of the Viet Nam-Italy direct flight during his tenure, revealing that the Italian Embassy is in discussions with several airlines on the plan.

Furthermore, Alessandro suggested promoting educational collaboration, with many deals already having been signed between universities of the two nations.

The Italian Government has plans to provide development assistance for Viet Nam in the fields of the environment, training, and energy, he added.

In addition, he expressed his wish to strengthen statistics cooperation with Viet Nam, saying that the Italian National Institute of Statistics could help Viet Nam with informal economic statistics.

In turn, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the Government of Viet Nam will create favourable conditions for Italian enterprises to invest in the Southeast Asian country, helping increase the trade value between the two nations.

The PM said that the two countries have enjoyed sound relations over the past 46 years, particularly after they established a strategic partnership in 2013.

He expressed his hope that the Italian diplomat will do his utmost to make practical contributions to boosting bilateral cooperation, especially in the fields of economy and trade.

The two-way trade value of US$ 5 billion in 2018 is still modest in comparison to the collaborative potential between the two countries, PM Phuc said, recommending that both sides increase business delegation exchanges in order to resolve bottlenecks that hinder their cooperation.

Mr. Phuc highlighted the importance of the European Union-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to cooperation between Viet Nam and the EU, including Italy, and hoped to receive Italy’s support so that the deal can be ratified soon.

Hailing Alessandro’s suggestion to open a Viet Nam-Italy non-stop flight, PM Phuc endorsed the idea which, he said will help enhance exchange and cooperation between the two nations.

By Vien Nhu