Vietnamese, Italian PMs co-chair Italy-ASEAN economic relations dialogue
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Italian counterpart Giuseppe Conte co-chaired the third High-Level Dialogue on Italy-ASEAN Economic Relations in Hanoi on June 6, held during the latter’s official visit to Vietnam.
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| Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and his Italian counterpart Giuseppe Conte attend third High-Level Dialogue on Italy-ASEAN Economic Relations. (Source: VNA) |
The event gathered over representatives of 300 enterprises from Italy and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and more than 150 Vietnamese businesses. It was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung.
Addressing the event, PM Phuc spoke highly of Italian enterprises’ confidence in Vietnam.
Emphasising the dialogue’s significance, he said that the presence of the Vietnamese Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister at the event shows the Government’s support for cooperation of the Italian Government as well as between Italian and ASEAN enterprises and Vietnamese partners.
He expressed his hope that Italian businesses will choose Vietnam when looking east thanks to its own potential and advantages.
The Vietnamese Government leader also called for win-win cooperation between Italian, ASEAN and Vietnamese businesses.
Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vu Tien Loc stated that this forum aims to create more business opportunities between Italy and ASEAN member states.
According to him, the economic and trade relations between Italy and ASEAN countries, including Vietnam, are entering an important development stage.
Italy, the third largest economy in the European Union and the eighth in the world, is an important economic partner in the EU, while ASEAN is an important geo-political and economic region of the EU in general and Italy in particular.
Former Prime Minister of Italy Enrico Letta, who is President of the Italy-Vietnam Association, stated that his country always attaches importance to the Italy-Vietnam bilateral relations of strategic cooperation as well as the Italy-ASEAN multilateral relations, with Vietnam serving as a strategic gateway for Italian businesses in Southeast Asia.
This means that Italy will intensify trade promotion projects and investment flows into Vietnam to use it as a springboard to increase Italian enterprises’ presence in the promising ASEAN market, he added.
