(Adnkronos) – Italy and Vietnam on Tuesday agreed to strengthen their strategic partnership and boost cooperation in the fields of trade, industry, investment, agriculture and the green transition, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The strategic partnership that unites us continues to prove an essential tool for fostering cooperation, supporting our companies, and responding to growing global challenges,” foreign under-secretary Maria Tripodi told the Italy-Vietnam Joint Economic Commission.
Tripodi and Vietnam’s deputy industry and trade minister Phan Thi Thang chaired the panel, which is the main mechanism for bilateral dialogue on economic and trade issues, said the foreign ministry statement.
During the meeting, Italy and Vietnam reaffirmed their shared commitment to the shift to a sustainable, resource-efficient and circular economy and agreed to continue talks on new agricultural products and boost collaboration in areas such as agricultural mechanisation, food processing and sustainable agriculture, the statement said.
Bilateral trade hit €6.7 billion in value last year (an 9.2% increase from 2024), with Vietnam becoming Italy’s leading trade partner among ASEAN countries, the statement continued.
Within the EU, Italy remains Vietnam’s third-largest trading partner, the statement noted.
Tripodi underlined the importance of continuing along a path of “balanced and sustainable growth” calling for measures to correct Italy’s negative trade balance with Vietnam, the statement said.
Tripodi also underscored the importance of protecting intellectual property and improving market access for Italian companies, “also through constructive dialogue aimed at overcoming the problematic issues highlighted by certain sectors”, the statement added.
On the sidelines of Tuesday’s meeting, Tripodi signed an accord on the Red River II Project, which is funded by the Italian government with a €2.86 million soft loan, the statement reported.
The project aims to improve the management of the Thai Binh (Red River) hydroelectric basin system through the development of a monitoring and decision-making support platform for energy.
