Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Tran Thanh Man held talks with President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Lorenzo Fontana on April 14 afternoon (local time), as part of his official visit to the European country.
Welcoming the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, Lorenzo Fontana described the visit as an important milestone marking a new phase in bilateral relations. He expressed his keen interest in Viet Nam and admiration for its recent socio-economic achievements.
He also extended congratulations to Party General Secretary and State President To Lam and other newly elected Vietnamese leaders of Viet Nam. Emphasising that Italy was among the first European countries to establish diplomatic ties with Viet Nam, he reaffirmed the desire to further strengthen the Strategic Partnership between the two nations.
NA Chairman Man noted with satisfaction the positive development of the traditional friendship in more than 50 years of diplomatic relations and over a decade of Strategic Partnership. He highlighted the significant potential for expanding cooperation beyond traditional areas such as trade, investment, and education to include those of Italy’s strengths like fashion, digital economy, green economy, and energy.
He also underscored that a direct air route between Ha Noi and Milan will help enhance people-to-people exchanges and promote cultural and tourism connections. On this occasion, he called on the Italian side to continue providing favourable legal conditions for the Vietnamese community living, studying, and working in the country.
Discussing future directions toward the upgrade of the bilateral ties, the top Vietnamese legislator proposed the two legislative bodies further strengthen political trust through increased delegation exchanges. He also stressed the importance of sharing law-making and oversight experience, improving legal frameworks, and enhancing the role of parliaments in implementing bilateral agreements and high-level commitments.
In addition, NA Chairman Man emphasised the need to closely link parliamentary diplomacy with substantive cooperation, enhance connectivity between localities, and strengthen close coordination at international and regional organisations.
The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to deepening and further promoting the Viet Nam-Italy relationship through both bilateral and multilateral channels. NA Chairman Man pledged that Viet Nam is ready to act as a solid bridge to bolster relations between the Italian Parliament and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
For his part, Lorenzo Fontana affirmed that he will advocate for the early ratification of the Viet Nam-European Union Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) by the remaining EU member states' parliaments. He also committed to urging the European Commission (EC) to lift the "yellow card" on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing on Viet Nam's seafood exports.
In light of the increasingly complex international and regional situation, both sides agreed on the necessity of continuing dialogue, strengthening political trust, respecting international law, and strongly supporting multilateralism.
On this occasion, NA Man invited Lorenzo Fontana to pay an official visit to Viet Nam. The Italian leader gladly accepted the invitation and expressed his desire to make the visit in the near future.
