Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai visits Italy

During the visit, he held talks with Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, and met with Minister of Economy and Finance Fabrizio Saccomanni and Minister of Economic Development Flavio Zanonato.

During the meetings, the hosts praised of Deputy PM Hai's visit, considering it a new step to develop the Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership in a deep and practical manner.

Deputy PM Hai affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to strengthening the fine traditional friendship with Italy.

The Italian side affirmed its desire to further deepen the multi-faceted co-operation with Vietnam. They said Italy backs Vietnam's efforts to develop comprehensive relations with the EU. It has urged the EU to approve the Partnership Co-operation Agreement (PCA), to recognise Vietnam's full market economic mechanism and to complete negotiations on the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as soon as possible.

The two sides agreed on measures to foster economic ties, including the early establishment of a Joint Committee on Economic Co-operation coordinated by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Italian Ministry of Economic Development.

They pledged to create favourable conditions for businesses to connect, focusing primarily on fields beneficial to Vietnam in which Italy holds advantage, such as transport infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, agricultural product processing, footwear and garment and textiles.

Both sides agreed to strengthen cultural exchanges and organise a meeting of their Joint Committee on Science and Technology. At the same time, they will co-ordinate to create conditions for a Vietnamese delegation to attend the International Expo Milano 2015.

They praised the continuing delegation exchanges by the two countries' Defence Ministries, and agreed to hold an annual strategic dialogue at the deputy defence ministerial level in the future.

On this occasion, the two sides signed an action plan to implement the Joint Statement on the establishment of the Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership in the 2013-14 period, with measures to further deepen the bilateral co-operation in the key areas of politics-diplomacy, economics, culture-education, defence and agriculture. They also inked an action programme on cultural co-operation for the 2013-16 period.

During his stay, Deputy PM Hai also received leaders of some major Italian economic groups and visited the Italian National Oil Corporation (ENI).

(Source: nhandannewspaperonline)