Rome (VNA) – The 45th founding anniversary of the Vietnam-Italy diplomatic ties(March 23, 1973) was marked with a ceremony held by the Vietnamese Embassy inItaly on March 30.

Addressing Italian officials and representativesof the Vietnamese community, Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Cao Chinh Thienemphasised that bilateral diplomatic ties were set up when Vietnam had not beencompletely reunified. 

In the trying times, Italy stood side by sidewith Vietnam. The image of the ship Australe carrying goods that the Italianpeople presented to the Vietnamese people during wartime became a symbol of thesolidarity and friendship between the two countries.

Vietnam-Italy ties are now in their prime.Notably, since a strategic partnership was founded in 2013, they have attaineda number of important achievements in politics, economy, culture, society andpeople-to-people exchange, he added.

The ambassador noted that over the past years,the two countries have actively organised mutual high-level visits to intensifybilateral links and mutual understanding. In 2014 and 2015, Prime MinisterMatteo Renzi and President Sergio Mattarella of Italy visited Vietnam. Theyaffirmed the determination to enhance multifaceted cooperation and that theircountry considers Vietnam as a priority to develop its relations with and alsoas a destination for Italian businesses in Southeast Asia.

[Ambassador: Vietnam – Italy ties at the best]

Vietnam has shown its respect for therelationship with Italy through the official visits by General Secretary of theCommunist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong in 2013, then National AssemblyChairman Nguyen Sinh Hung in 2014, then President of the Vietnam FatherlandFront Nguyen Thien Nhan in 2015, and President Tran Dai Quang in 2016.

Thien said bilateral trade has grown strongly,approximating 5 billion USD annually over the last five years. The figure istargeted at 6 billion USD in 2017 and 2018. 

While cultural, tourism, scientific andeducational relations have been expanded, locality-to-locality cooperation hasalso been promoted. With the wholehearted support of Italian people, theVietnamese community in the country has also actively maintained andpopularised Vietnam’s culture.

He added that Italy is an important Europeanpartner of Vietnam, and the Southeast Asian nation always wants to bolster thestrategic partnership in all fields in a result-oriented manner. It isimportant to renew bilateral relations to elevate their ties and fully tap eachcountry’s potential.

For his part, Deputy Director General for GlobalIssues of the Italian Foreign Ministry Ugo Astuto highlighted the countries’traditional amity, valuing the accomplishments that they have obtained over thelast 45 years.

There remains huge potential for both sides todevelop cooperation in all spheres, he said, expressing his belief thatbilateral relations will continue to flourish in the time ahead.-VNA