Speaking at the meeting, President Thuong highlighted the importance of his visit as the two countries are celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership, affirming that Vietnam always attaches importance to the strategic partnership with Italy, including the close cooperation between their legislative bodies.
For his part, President of the Italian Senate Ignazio La Russa said the visit is the first at the head of state level between the two countries in seven years, forming an important milestone in the bilateral ties.
The Senate President applauded the strong progress in their multifaceted cooperation, underlined the friendship and solidarity between the two nations' peoples, and stated that Vietnam is the most important partner of Italy in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
He also voiced his support for Vietnam to act as a bridge linking the Italian Parliament and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA).
The two leaders agreed that their countries will coordinate closely and support each other at inter-parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) so as to contribute to regional and global peace, cooperation, and development.
President Thuong called on both sides to increase all-level delegation exchanges between the states, governments, and parliaments; maintain close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums like the United Nations and the ASEAN-EU framework to jointly respond to regional and global issues; and step up partnerships in education - training, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.
On this occasion, President Thuong conveyed National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue’s invitation to visit Vietnam to Senate President La Russa, who accepted the invitation with pleasure.
