Prospects for Vietnam-Italy cooperation Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and his delegation started an official two-day visit to Italy on January 20 at the invitation of Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. The Party Chief’s visit represents a new chapter in bilateral relations between the two countries. Vietnamese-Italian diplomatic ties were established in 1973, resting on the strong foundations of the solidarity between the two peoples. During their struggles for national independence and unification, Vietnamese people received valuable encouragement from Italian friends united in Vietnam’s efforts for justice. Both countries are eager to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their diplomatic ties with a range of activities giving the relationship the recognition it deserves. Italian friends of the “Vietnamese generation” have remained confident of Vietnam’s success in its Doi Moi (Renewal) and integration process. Vietnamese people admire Italy’s international renown for its age-old cultural traditions and its plethora of cultural, fine arts, and architectural masterpieces. Over the past 40 years, bilateral cooperation has grown considerably across a variety of fields. Italy was the first northwestern European nation that actively helped to end embargoes against Vietnam, supported cooperation between Vietnam and the European Union (EU) at major international forums, and promoted the normalization of relations between Vietnam and international financial, trade, and monetary organizations. Senior Italian leaders are determined to enhance the multifaceted cooperation with Vietnam, prioritising the country in Italy’s Southeast Asian development strategy and regarding it as a promising investment destination for Italian businesses through to 2020. Many Italian-invested projects in Vietnam, such as Technip Italy, Danieli Officina, Fiat Iveco, and Piaggio, have garnered success. Italy has been Vietnam’s top EU trade partner for many years. Despite the global economic downturn and difficulties in both nations’ national economies, two-way trade exchange maintained impressive growth rates of 38 percent (US$2.35 billion) in 2011 and 10 percent (US$2.8 billion) in 2012. Italy and Vietnam are especially intent on increasing cultural cooperation, particularly in preservation, museumlogy, human resource training, and the project to upgrade the World Cultural Heritage-listed Holy Land of My Son. Their cooperation is destined to continue in sports, tourism, education-training, and scientific research. The two countries are working towards the signing of cooperative programme documents to support Vietnamese students and scientific research projects in Italy. Vietnam desires to attract more Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) keen to do business in Vietnamese localities. Existing cooperation—such as between Hanoi and Rome, HCM City and Milan, Hai Phong and Genoa, and Hue and Venice—should also be perpetuated. During Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong’s first Italian friendship visit in the history of bilateral relations, his meetings with Italian leaders are expected to push the comprehensive relations in politics-diplomacy, economics-trade, culture, education, and national security-defense to new heights towards building a Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership. The visit will intensify the future’s bright prospects for cooperation between the two countries, advancing the interests and aspirations of the two countries’ leaders and peoples. Source: VOV