Official welcome ceremony held for Vietnamese President in Rome

The welcome ceremony for President Vo Van Thuong and his spouse was held very solemnly with state-level ceremonies. Right from Venice Square, the Italian Cavalry of Honor accompanied the vehicle of President Vo Van Thuong and his wife from the square to the Presidential Palace.

Over the past five decades, Vietnam-Italy relations have seen comprehensive development across multiple fields, and in both bilateral and multilateral cooperation aspects, especially since the two nations 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.

According to Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Antonio Alessandro, both 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.

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 anniversary of their diplomatic ties, and 10 years of the strategic partnership, the Vietnamese diplomat said.

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

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