Italian businesses seek opportunities in Vietnam

Nearly 50 Italian and Vietnamese businesses attended a seminar on June 18 entitled “Vietnam in Umbria”, organised by the Italian employers’ federation Confindustria and the Vietnamese embassy in Italy.

Addressing the event, Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long emphasized that Vietnam and Italy have established a fine traditional friendship. Italy was the first Northwest European nation that actively supported strengthening cooperation between Vietnam and the European Union at international forums, as well as normalizing ties between Vietnam and international financial, trade and monetary organizations in the early 1990s.

However, the current economic and investment ties have yet to match either country’s potential, said Long.

The diplomat said in the face of the global economic slowdown both countries are actively seeking ways to boost bilateral cooperative ties in all fields, especially in economics. He said many Italian businesses are interested in investing in Vietnam, as well as other emerging markets.

Vietnam realizes that it needs to change its growth model, restructure the economy, and implement other strict measures to attract foreign investment and support its businesses in investing overseas, he added.

The ambassador urged Italy to provide technical support for Vietnam and also help train Vietnamese engineers and workers. He said that he will ask the relevant Italian agencies to extend further credit to support Italian businesses that have established trade with their Vietnamese counterparts.