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| President Vo Van Thuong and his wife visit Austria, Italy and the Vatican. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
The visit from July 23-28 of President Vo Van Thuong and his wife took place at the invitation of President of the Republic of Austria Alexander Van Dar Bellen, President of the Republic of Italy Sergio Mattarella and Pope Francis.
Accompanying the President and his wife Phan Thi Thanh Tam during the visit were: Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son; Head of the Office of the President Le Khanh Hai; Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung; Secretary of Vinh Phuc Provincial Party Committee Hoang Thi Thuy Lan; Deputy Minister of National Defense Vo Minh Luong; Deputy Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang; Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Bui The Duy; Deputy Minister of Education and Training Hoang Minh Son; Deputy Director of the Supreme People's Procuracy Nguyen Quang Dung; Chairman of the People's Committee of Binh Dinh Province Pham Anh Tuan; Assistant to the President Duong Quoc Hung; Vietnamese Ambassador to Austria Nguyen Trung Kien; Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Duong Hai Hung.
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| Seeing off the President and his wife at Noi Bai International Airport were the Austrian Ambassador to Vietnam and the Italian Ambassador to Vietnam. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
This is the first visit to Austria by a Vietnamese President in the past 15 years and the first exchange of delegations at the Head of State level between Vietnam, Italy and the Vatican in the past 7 years, and is also the most important highlight on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and 10 years of the Vietnam-Italy Strategic Partnership.
During the visit, President Vo Van Thuong and his wife will meet with leaders of Austria, Italy and the Vatican, promoting and deepening bilateral cooperation with Austria, Italy and the Vatican; promoting Vietnam-EU relations through Austria and Italy and contributing to promoting ASEAN-EU relations.
Austria was one of the first European countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam (in 1972). Over the past five decades, the relationship between the two countries has grown in many fields.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Austria Nguyen Trung Kien said that this is also an opportunity for the two countries to affirm the very good relationship that is developing comprehensively between the two countries, and at the same time, it is also a visit for the President to meet and work with multilateral diplomatic forums, thereby affirming Vietnam's voice and role in multilateral international forums.
During the visit, President Vo Van Thuong will attend the official welcoming ceremony and hold talks with President Alexander Van der Bellen, meet with Senate President Claudia Arpa, and meet and work with the Prime Ministers of Vienna and Burgenland states...
In addition, the President will meet and work with representatives of international organizations, including the Acting Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Italy is an important partner and a loyal friend of the Vietnamese people. During the meetings, Italian leaders affirmed their respect for the relationship and their determination to promote multifaceted cooperation, considering Vietnam a priority country for developing relations in the Southeast Asian region.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella said he was very impressed by the beauty, warmth and dynamic development of Vietnam during his visit in November 2016 and in his recent congratulatory letter to President Vo Van Thuong, he expressed Italy's desire to strengthen the strategic relationship between the two countries.
During the visit, the President is expected to hold talks with President Sergio Mattarella and attend a State Banquet hosted by the President; meet Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, President of the Senate Ignazio La Russa, President of the Chamber of Deputies Lorenzo Fontana, President of the Tuscany Region, Mayor of Rome and Mayor of Florence; and attend a concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Italy diplomatic relations. The President will also have a number of other activities such as meeting with leaders of the Communist Party and the Italian Democratic Party; visiting the Vietnamese Embassy and meeting the Vietnamese community in Italy and Italian friends.
According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Duong Hai Hung, "the President's acceptance of the invitation to pay a State visit to Italy demonstrates mutual respect and the support and determination of the two countries' senior leaders to further strengthen and deepen the Vietnam-Italy Strategic Partnership."
Over the past time, Vietnam-Vatican relations have seen positive changes. The two sides have effectively maintained high-level contacts and the Vietnam-Vatican Joint Working Group mechanism. Since 2011, the Holy See's non-resident special envoy has been working in Vietnam. During the visit, the President will meet with Pope Francis and the Vatican Prime Minister and Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
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