President Vo Van Thuong meets with Italian Senate President
Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong met with President of the Italian Senate Ignazio La Russa in Rome on July 26 as part of his State visit to the European country.
President Thuong highlighted the importance of his visit as the two countries are celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership, affirming that Vietnam always attaches importance to the strategic partnership with Italy, including the close cooperation between their legislative bodies.
Welcoming his guest, La Russa said the visit is the first at the head of state level between the two countries in seven years, forming an important milestone in the bilateral ties.
He applauded the strong progress in their multifaceted cooperation, underlined the friendship and solidarity between the two nations' peoples, and stated that Vietnam is the most important partner of Italy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Senate President also voiced his support for Vietnam to act as a bridge linking the Italian Parliament and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA).
The two leaders agreed that their countries will coordinate closely and support each other at inter-parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) so as to contribute to regional and global peace, cooperation, and development.
President Thuong called on both sides to increase all-level delegation exchanges between the states, governments, and parliaments; maintain close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums like the United Nations and the ASEAN-EU framework to jointly respond to regional and global issues; and step up partnerships in education - training, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.
La Russa agreed on his guest’s proposal to create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to successfully integrate into the social and economic life of Italy and continue helping strengthen the bilateral friendship.
He also showed support for the two countries’ economic ties, noting that more than 100 Italian businesses are operating fruitfully in Vietnam.
On this occasion, President Thuong conveyed National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue’s invitation to visit Vietnam to Senate President La Russa, who accepted the invitation with pleasure.
The same day, Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong had a meeting with Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri who said he hopes to work closely with the Vietnamese side to organise activities to mark the anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Rome will continue to collaborate with Hanoi and other Vietnamese localities in areas where Rome has strengths such as economy-trade, tourism, education-training, cultural heritage preservation, energy transition, digital transformation, and innovation, he said.
Also on July 26, President Thuong witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the People’s Committee of south-central Binh Dinh province and H20 Racing on cooperation in organising UIM F1H20 Grand Prix and UIM-ABP Aquabike Grand Pix Binh Dinh 2024 in Quy Nhon city. They are the first international powerboat tournaments hosted by Vietnam.
Held by the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM), the tournaments, the world's leading international coastal powerboat races with a long tradition, will gather 70 racers from 30 countries.
As scheduled, the Aquabike Grand Prix Binh Dinh 2024 will take place from March 22-24, while the F1H20 Grand Prix will be held from March 29-31, 2024.
