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| Official welcoming ceremony for the President and his wife at the Austrian Presidential Palace. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
The visit to Austria, Italy and the Vatican (July 23-28) by President Vo Van Thuong and his wife is the first visit to Austria by a Vietnamese President in 15 years, the first exchange of delegations at the head of state level between Vietnam and Italy and the Vatican in the past seven years, and also the most important highlight on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam-Italy Strategic Partnership.
During his official visit to Austria, President Vo Van Thuong had a dense and diverse program of activities: holding talks with President Alexander Van der Bellen; meeting with Senate President Claudia Arpa; meeting with Acting Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Najat Mokhtar; visiting the City Hall and meeting with Mayor of Vienna Michael Ludwig and his wife; visiting the state of Burgenland; receiving the Vietnamese Ambassador to Austria and six Vietnamese Ambassadors to European Union (EU) countries; meeting with representatives of the Vietnamese community in Austria...
In Italy, President Vo Van Thuong held talks with President Sergio Mattarella; met with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, President of the Senate Ignazio La Russa, President of the House of Representatives Lorenzo Fontana; attended a concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Italy diplomatic relations... At the Vatican, the President met with Pope Francis and Prime Minister, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
Not stopping at "record"
“I believe that this visit to Austria will create new momentum, enhance mutual understanding and trust, and create a foundation for the relationship between the two countries to develop strongly in the future,” President Vo Van Thuong emphasized at a press conference after his talks with President Alexander Van der Bellen.
At the same time, the President affirmed that Vietnam pursues an independent, self-reliant, diversified and multilateral foreign policy. Vietnam wants to be a friend and reliable partner of all countries, and an active and responsible member of the international community.
During the discussion, both sides assessed that the multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Austria has developed well and dynamically over the past 50 years. The leaders of the two countries agreed to increase delegation exchanges at all levels, especially at high levels and through all channels, effectively implement existing cooperation mechanisms, and at the same time study and establish cooperation mechanisms suitable to the new situation.
Economic - trade - investment cooperation received the most "entrustments" with many new goals and efforts. The "record" bilateral trade turnover of 2.79 billion Euros in 2022 is not the final destination, both sides want to further strengthen economic cooperation which has a lot of potential.
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| President Vo Van Thuong and President Alexander Van der Bellen witnessed the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
The two countries have had various cooperation agreements, such as dual training, continued preferential loans to implement Austrian sustainable development projects in Vietnam; effectively utilizing the benefits of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to create many new breakthrough results.
Vietnam asked Austria to soon complete the ratification procedures of the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) to facilitate equal and mutually beneficial investment relations; and asked Austria to support and urge the European Commission (EC) to soon remove the IUU yellow card on Vietnamese seafood, creating favorable conditions for Vietnam to export this product to the EU. For its part, Austria emphasized that Vietnam is Austria's largest partner in Southeast Asia, hoping that both sides will pay attention to improving the bilateral trade balance.
The visit to Burgenland (one of the nine states in the far east of Austria, with a relatively high growth rate in Europe) and meeting with State President Hans Peter Doskozil is a testament to Vietnam's determination to promote substantive bilateral economic cooperation. The President encouraged Burgenland businesses to exploit investment and business opportunities in Vietnam based on their strengths, supporting Vietnam in areas such as renewable energy, green growth, etc.
During the visit, the two sides discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern and agreed to continue close coordination at regional and international forums, especially the United Nations and the ASEAN-EU cooperation framework, contributing to peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world.
During the visit, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son met again with Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg after less than three months. The two Ministers highly appreciated the coordination between the two Foreign Ministries in recent times, especially in preparing for the
visit. The two Ministers said that the signing of the cooperation document by the two Foreign Ministries in the presence of the Heads of State of the two countries laid the foundation for closer and more effective cooperation between the two ministries, contributing to the increasingly strong development of bilateral relations.
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| President Vo Van Thuong and his wife, President Sergio Mattarella and his daughter take a photo together. (Photo: Viet Dung) |
“Gift” from Italy
When the honor guard escorted the car of President Vo Van Thuong and his wife towards the Presidential Palace - the magnificent Palazzo del Quirinale Palace with many typical Italian architectural features, the fact that the Italian President and his daughter were there, welcoming the President and his wife to the parking lot, created a solemn and warm atmosphere.
“In its foreign policy, Vietnam attaches special importance to its relations with Italy, a very important member of the EU and the international community,” President Vo Van Thuong emphasized during his talks with President Sergio Mattarella. The President said that Vietnam always remembers and is grateful for the valuable support of the Italian people in the past struggle for national independence and reunification as well as in the country’s construction and development today.
For his part, the Italian leader expressed his appreciation for Vietnam's position and role in the Asia-Pacific region as well as the friendship and close ties between the people of the two countries.
The two leaders agreed to promote the Vietnam-Italy strategic partnership, contribute to sustainable development in each country and jointly respond to global challenges.
Specifically, in terms of diplomacy, the two sides agreed to promote the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially at high levels, through State, Government and National Assembly channels; continue to effectively implement bilateral cooperation mechanisms. In terms of economy, the Italian President agreed with the Vietnamese side's proposal that the two sides continue to effectively implement the EVFTA; support the EC to soon remove the IUU yellow card for Vietnam's seafood exports to promote economic and trade cooperation, contributing to economic recovery.
In particular, Vietnam received good news, a “gift” from Italy when President Sergio Mattarella announced that the Italian Parliament ratified the EVIPA Agreement on the same day that President Vo Van Thuong visited Italy. The approval of the agreement will benefit businesses and people of the two countries, contributing to promoting stronger trade and investment cooperation in the coming time.
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| President Vo Van Thuong meets with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. (Source: Italian Government) |
At the meeting with the President of Vietnam on the same day, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni once again emphasized that Italy's ratification of EVIPA on the occasion of his visit demonstrated Italy's interest in promoting bilateral relations.
Currently, with two-way trade reaching over 6.2 billion USD in 2022, Vietnam is Italy's largest trading partner in ASEAN, Italy is Vietnam's leading partner in Europe and ranks 33rd out of 143 countries and territories with direct investment in Vietnam. The two leaders agreed to aim to increase trade turnover to 7 billion USD.
The two sides agreed to strengthen coordination at international organizations and forums such as the United Nations, the G7-ASEAN cooperation framework, etc.; and closely coordinate in implementing commitments within the framework of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP).
The President asked Italy to support the promotion of the Vietnam-EU Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation, and Vietnam is ready to act as a bridge to promote relations between Italy and ASEAN. Prime Minister Meloni affirmed that Italy is ready to act as a bridge for the G7-ASEAN and Vietnam-EU relations.
Italy pledged to support Vietnam in finance, technology and human resource training to help Vietnam respond to climate change. The Italian Prime Minister welcomed the proposal to establish a tripartite framework on agriculture between Vietnam, Italy and a third country to contribute to solving the global food security issue. After the meeting, the two leaders witnessed the signing of the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters and the Cultural Cooperation Program between the two Governments for the period 2023-2026.
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| President Vo Van Thuong meets with President of the Italian Senate Ignazio La Russa. (Photo: Thong Nhat) |
Promoting relations with the Vatican
For the Vatican, the visit of President Vo Van Thuong and his wife is the first high-level contact between the two sides in the past seven years, an important event for the two sides to promote relations as well as activities of Vietnamese Catholics.
Over the past time, the two sides have maintained high-level contacts and effectively implemented the Joint Working Group mechanism. Since 2011, the Holy See's permanent representative has been operating regularly in Vietnam.
The Vietnamese State has always consistently advocated respecting and ensuring freedom of belief and religion, creating favorable conditions for religious activities in general and Catholicism in particular, in accordance with Vietnamese Catholicism. On the Vatican side, Pope Benedict XVI issued instructions and messages directing Vietnamese Catholic dignitaries and followers to implement the guidelines of "accompanying the nation", "good Catholics are also good citizens", and encouraging the Vietnamese Catholic community to contribute to the country.
The State President’s working trip to Europe once again sends a message of Vietnam’s readiness and desire to further deepen multifaceted cooperation with Austria, Italy and the Vatican. The visit contributes to creating new momentum for relations between Vietnam and these countries in all fields.
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