Hanoi (VNA) – National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen ThiKim Ngan highlighted the development of the Vietnam-Italy strategic partnershipwhile receiving Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and InternationalCooperation Enzo Moavero Milanesi in Hanoi on May 7.

Welcoming her guest’s official visit, ChairwomanNgan noted the strategic partnership has been developing in all aspects,including politics-diplomacy, trade-investment, culture-education,science-technology, and security-defence.

She said the potential for bilateral cooperationremains huge, especially in trade-investment, noting that Italy has strengthsin industrial production, particularly mechanical engineering, high technology,infrastructure-transport development, and energy, which are also the fieldsVietnam is looking for cooperation.

This June, Vietnam and Italy will co-organisethe third high-level dialogue on Italy-ASEAN economic relations in Hanoi,gathering many big businesses from both sides. This will be a chance to enhanceeconomic and trade ties between Italy and ASEAN countries, including Vietnam –the biggest trade partner of the European nation in ASEAN, she said.

Sharing the view on the fruitful relations inmany areas, Minister Milanesi said as a founding member of the European Union,Italy has supported Vietnam during the negotiation on the EU-Vietnam Free TradeAgreement (EVFTA). It hopes the deal will be signed and ratified soon so as topromote trade and investment links between the EU, including Italy, andVietnam.

He highly valued Vietnam’s role and stature inthe region, noting that despite geographical distance, the countries have beendrawn closer thanks to scientific and technological development. They have alsoshared many common viewpoints on foreign, economic-trade, and security-defencepolicies.

Italy can strengthen cooperation with Vietnam inits strong fields of industrial production, mechanics and precise automation,Milanesi said.

He added most of companies in Italy are smalland medium-sized firms, which is an advantage since they are highly dynamic andactive. His country is ready to share its knowledge about the management ofsmall and medium enterprises with Vietnam.

At the meeting, Chairwoman Ngan appreciatedItaly’s official development assistance for Vietnam, saying that itscooperation projects have been helping with her country’s sustainabledevelopment efforts.

She also asked both sides to continue expandingcooperation to the fields they have strengths in and demand for.

On this occasion, the host also asked MinisterMilanesi to deliver the invitation to visit Vietnam to the presidents of theChamber of Deputies and the Senate of Italy.-VNA