Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Italian Prime MinisterMario Monti shared their delight with the establishment of a strategicpartnership between Vietnam and Italy.
At their meeting inRome on January 21 (local time), the leaders said the strategicpartnership will open up more opportunities for both sides to cooperatebut also require their greater efforts to develop their tiesextensively, comprehensively and sustainably and bring practicalinterests to their peoples.
Party leader Trong said he waspleased with his State visit to Italy and stated that Vietnam placesimportance on Italy’s position in the region and the world andwants to foster its friendship and multi-faceted cooperation with theEuropean country.
He thanked the Italian people fortheir solidarity and valuable support given to Vietnam in its paststruggle for national independence as well as in its current nationalconstruction and development, describing these as a firm foundation forthe current bilateral growing friendship and cooperation.
He lauded Italy on prioritising economic, trade and investmentcooperation with Vietnam by 2020 and continuing providing thecountry with official development assistance (ODA) in 2013-2015 whileweathering the effects of economic and bad debt crises.
The Italian PM said he is impressed by great achievements theVietnamese people have made during the renewal process. He affirmed thatItaly attaches special importance to and highly values Vietnam ’srole and position in the regional and international arenas.
The two leaders agreed to strongly promote bilateral relations in allaspects, encourage and create conditions for their businesses to enhanceinvestment cooperation in areas where Italy is successful andVietnam has demand such as infrastructure, energy and environment.
Theyalso pledged to accelerate the signing and implementation ofcooperation agreements in culture, education-training anddefence-security, and continue effective cooperation and coordinationand mutual support at multilateral forums and mechanisms.
Italysupports Vietnam in strengthening its comprehensive cooperation withthe EU in the ASEAN-EU framework while Vietnam backs Italy ’spromotion of relations with ASEAN countries.
Theyalso exchanged views on regional and international issues of commonconcern and on how to safeguard maritime security and safety, maintainpeace and stability in the region and settle regional disputes withpeaceful measures on the basis of international law.
After their meeting, Trong and Mario Monti witnessed the signing of ajoint statement on the establishment of Vietnam-Italy strategicpartnership, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the Italy Houseproject and an action programmme on educational cooperation between thetwo governments in 2013-2016.
The other documentsincluded the MoUs on cooperation between the two Defence Ministries,cooperation and administrative assistance in the customs sector, andcooperation between the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group(PetroVietnam) and the Italian National Oil and Gas Group.
The Italian side granted an oil and gas exploration and exploitation license to PetroVietnam.
On the day, Party General Secretary Trong and his entourage attended aceremony marking the 40 th anniversary of Vietnam-Italy diplomaticties.
Speaking at the event, Vietnamese ForeignMinister Pham Binh Minh said the setting up of diplomatic relations onMarch 23, 1973 ushered in a new page in history of the two countries’relationship and reflected Italy ’s valuable support for Vietnam ata time when it was fighting for national independence and unification.
Inits deeper renovation and greater regional and global integration,Vietnam has become a market of great potential that draws much attentionfrom Italian businesses, Minh said, adding that Italia is one ofVietnam’s important partners in the EU with two-way trade continuouslyincreasing in recent years.
As an active ASEANmember and a coordinator for ASEAN-EU relations in the next three years,Vietnam is willing to support Italy to boost its relations withASEAN and member states, he noted.
The minister saidthat the establishment of Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership duringthis visit marks the start of a new chapter in the bilateral ties withintensive, effective and sustainable development.
He affirmed that Vietnam always wants to deepen its friendship and cooperation with Italy.
For his part, Italian Foreign Minister stressed that Vietnam holds anew central position in Italy s foreign policy in the context ofthe dynamic development of its relation with the whole Asian region.
The Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership will further improve the cooperation between the two sides, he said.
Also on January 21, the Vietnamese delegation visited an exhibition onVietnam-Italy solidarity in the 1960-1970 period and enjoyed an artperformance in celebration of the 40 th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
In the evening of the day, Italian PresidentGiorgio Napolitano hosted a national banquet in honour of Party leaderTrong and his entourage.-VNA
At their meeting inRome on January 21 (local time), the leaders said the strategicpartnership will open up more opportunities for both sides to cooperatebut also require their greater efforts to develop their tiesextensively, comprehensively and sustainably and bring practicalinterests to their peoples.
Party leader Trong said he waspleased with his State visit to Italy and stated that Vietnam placesimportance on Italy’s position in the region and the world andwants to foster its friendship and multi-faceted cooperation with theEuropean country.
He thanked the Italian people fortheir solidarity and valuable support given to Vietnam in its paststruggle for national independence as well as in its current nationalconstruction and development, describing these as a firm foundation forthe current bilateral growing friendship and cooperation.
He lauded Italy on prioritising economic, trade and investmentcooperation with Vietnam by 2020 and continuing providing thecountry with official development assistance (ODA) in 2013-2015 whileweathering the effects of economic and bad debt crises.
The Italian PM said he is impressed by great achievements theVietnamese people have made during the renewal process. He affirmed thatItaly attaches special importance to and highly values Vietnam ’srole and position in the regional and international arenas.
The two leaders agreed to strongly promote bilateral relations in allaspects, encourage and create conditions for their businesses to enhanceinvestment cooperation in areas where Italy is successful andVietnam has demand such as infrastructure, energy and environment.
Theyalso pledged to accelerate the signing and implementation ofcooperation agreements in culture, education-training anddefence-security, and continue effective cooperation and coordinationand mutual support at multilateral forums and mechanisms.
Italysupports Vietnam in strengthening its comprehensive cooperation withthe EU in the ASEAN-EU framework while Vietnam backs Italy ’spromotion of relations with ASEAN countries.
Theyalso exchanged views on regional and international issues of commonconcern and on how to safeguard maritime security and safety, maintainpeace and stability in the region and settle regional disputes withpeaceful measures on the basis of international law.
After their meeting, Trong and Mario Monti witnessed the signing of ajoint statement on the establishment of Vietnam-Italy strategicpartnership, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the Italy Houseproject and an action programmme on educational cooperation between thetwo governments in 2013-2016.
The other documentsincluded the MoUs on cooperation between the two Defence Ministries,cooperation and administrative assistance in the customs sector, andcooperation between the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group(PetroVietnam) and the Italian National Oil and Gas Group.
The Italian side granted an oil and gas exploration and exploitation license to PetroVietnam.
On the day, Party General Secretary Trong and his entourage attended aceremony marking the 40 th anniversary of Vietnam-Italy diplomaticties.
Speaking at the event, Vietnamese ForeignMinister Pham Binh Minh said the setting up of diplomatic relations onMarch 23, 1973 ushered in a new page in history of the two countries’relationship and reflected Italy ’s valuable support for Vietnam ata time when it was fighting for national independence and unification.
Inits deeper renovation and greater regional and global integration,Vietnam has become a market of great potential that draws much attentionfrom Italian businesses, Minh said, adding that Italia is one ofVietnam’s important partners in the EU with two-way trade continuouslyincreasing in recent years.
As an active ASEANmember and a coordinator for ASEAN-EU relations in the next three years,Vietnam is willing to support Italy to boost its relations withASEAN and member states, he noted.
The minister saidthat the establishment of Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership duringthis visit marks the start of a new chapter in the bilateral ties withintensive, effective and sustainable development.
He affirmed that Vietnam always wants to deepen its friendship and cooperation with Italy.
For his part, Italian Foreign Minister stressed that Vietnam holds anew central position in Italy s foreign policy in the context ofthe dynamic development of its relation with the whole Asian region.
The Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership will further improve the cooperation between the two sides, he said.
Also on January 21, the Vietnamese delegation visited an exhibition onVietnam-Italy solidarity in the 1960-1970 period and enjoyed an artperformance in celebration of the 40 th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
In the evening of the day, Italian PresidentGiorgio Napolitano hosted a national banquet in honour of Party leaderTrong and his entourage.-VNA
