Ms. Sandra Scagliotti, Vietnam’s Honorary Consul in Turin, speaking at the meeting (Photo: VNA)
Speaking at the ceremony, Ms. Sandra Scagliotti, Vietnam’s Honorary Consul in the city of Turin, praised the beauty of the country of Vietnam, with rich cultural traditions and the traditional Lunar New Year Festival as a good tradition for a long time.
She reiterated the deep impressions of Vietnamese people that she and many other Italian friends have.
On this occasion, Ms. Sandra Scagliotti called upon Italian friends and the Vietnamese community to make relentless efforts to strengthen the friendship and ties between the two countries.
For his part, Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Cao Chinh Thien introduced the achievements Vietnam has made in recent years in foreign relations, economic development and society - culture.
He said that Vietnam continues to maintain economic growth rate of 6% per year, achieving a high growth rate in Asia in the context of the world economy facing various difficulties. Free trade agreements that Vietnam has signed with key partners such as ASEAN, China, the Republic of Korea and India, have helped Vietnamese enterprises as well as foreign companies investing in Vietnam seek more new opportunities and markets for export.
The Ambassador emphasized that the good relations between Vietnam and Italy have been confirmed by the leaders of the two countries and strengthened during the recent high-level visits, including the official visit to Italy by President Tran Dai Quang in November 2016. The high-level visits have shown great political will from the both sides to take the Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership go in-depth, substantively and effectively.
He expressed his confidence that in the future, the two sides would have more practical cooperation activities commensurate with this relationship.
Regarding Vietnam-Italy economic relations, Ambassador Cao Chinh Thien said the bilateral trade turnover has grown rapidly in recent years, especially since the two countries established strategic partnership in 2013. In 2016, the bilateral trade revenue reached USD4.6 billion.
Italy is Vietnam’s fifth largest trade partner in the European Union (EU), while Vietnam is Italy’s largest trade partner in ASEAN.
At the meeting, the participants enjoyed traditional dishes of Vietnam and Italy, as well as art programs to welcome the Spring of the Rooster.
Turin is a major city located in northwestern Italy and is a centre of the mechanical and manufacturing industry of the boot-shaped country.
Having a long cooperation tradition with Vietnam, so far Turin is the only city which has an Honorary Consulate Office of Vietnam./.