Italy supports speeding up the implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to boost trade between Italy and Vietnam to US$7 billion in the coming time, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Wednesday.

The Italian PM was speaking during talks with Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuong, who, along with his spouse and entourage, arrived in Rome a day earlier for an official visit at the invitation of his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella.

During their talks, which took place following Thuong’s meeting with President Mattarella, PM Meloni said she advocated accelerating the implementation of the EVFTA as an effective way to increase bilateral trade from more than $6.2 billion in 2022 to $7 billion in the near future.

Currently, Vietnam is Italy’s largest trading partner in ASEAN, while the Southern European country is Vietnam’s third-largest trading partner in the EU, after Germany and the Netherlands, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

PM Meloni also noted that the Italian Parliament’s ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement on the first day of Thuong’s visit served as a testament to Italy’s interest in promoting investment relations between the two countries. 

Italy now ranks 33 out of 143 countries and territories with direct investment in Vietnam.

Besides trade and investment, both sides agreed to continue promoting cooperation in other fields such as security-defense, education-training, science-technology, and cultural heritage conservation.

They affirmed that these are potential areas that need to be tapped to further enhance the effectiveness of the Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership, which was established in January 2013.

Particularly, the Vietnamese leader said Vietnam is ready to work closely with Italy to promote cooperation in green transformation, digital economy, and sustainable and inclusive prosperity.

He asked Italy to support the promotion of the Vietnam-EU comprehensive partnership, and pledged that Vietnam is willing to act as a bridge for expanding Italy-ASEAN relations.

The Italian PM affirmed that Italy will contribute to strengthening the Vietnam-EU connections as well as the G7-ASEAN ties.

She welcomed Vietnam’s proposal to establish a tripartite agricultural framework between Vietnam, Italy, and a third country as an effort to help address global food security issues.

After their talks, PM Meloni and her guest witnessed the signing of a cultural cooperation program for 2023-26 and an agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal affairs between the two countries.

President Thuong later the same day met with President of the Italian Senate Ignazio La Russa, President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Lorenzo Fontana, and Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri.

As scheduled, the Vietnamese state leader will also visit the Vatican, at the invitation of Pope Francis, as part of his trip to visit both Italy and the Holy See from July 25 to 28. 

Before arriving in Rome, the president and his wife, along with their entourage, visited Austria from July 23 to 25.

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