Vietnam: Delrio's visit aims at Italy-Vietnam partnership

(AGI) - Hanoi, 26 sep. - The two-day visit of Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Graziano Delrio, to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is taking place on Monday in Hanoi and will continue tomorrow in Ho Chi Minh city, aiming at more concrete partnership between Italy-Vietnam in infrastructure and transport sector. In Hanoi, Minister Delrio was received by Vietnamese Prime Minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc and the Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee, Nguyen Duc Chung. During the meeting, Minister Delrio and Vietnamese PM Phuc discussed ways to enhance relations between Italy and Vietnam in infrastructures and transport. Both shared the hope that the upcoming State visit to Italy by Vietnamese President, Tran Dai Quang, in November will be the occasion for further, concrete steps. On Monday morning, Minister Delrio was also received by Vietnam's Minister of Transport, Truong Quang Nghia. "We both agree that there are lot of common interests and cooperation potentials for the two countries in various sectors, including: aviation, railway, road and maritime", Minister Delrio told AGI correspondent in a private interview, mentioning that the two Ministers also discussed to develop Italy-Vietnam Strategic Partnership, which was signed in 2013, in more concrete ways. "There are a number of aspects to foster in the future" stressed Minister Delrio. "Italy has a valuable experience in public private projects (Ppp) and particularly in the field of ports, and that could be a key asset for Vietnam. As far as aviation sector we share also the project to work together to establish a direct fly Vietnam-Italy in a short time". Minister Delrio also said the two countries would develop the MoU signed in 2015 between Ferrovie dello Stato italiane SpA (FS) and Vietnam Railways (Vnr) and explore further areas of cooperation for the two parties, regarding the development of high-speed rail system in Vietnam. Besides maritime sector, which Italy and Vietnam share similarities in being the gateway to EU and Asian market, respectively, "public-private cooperation is the field where Italy could share a lot of experiences for Vietnam and Italy's Ministry of Transport is willing to offer Vietnam strategic, technical support". On Tuesday, in Vietnam's business hub, Ho Chi Minh City, Minister Delrio will meet with Secretary of Ho chi Minh City (HCMC) Party Committee, Dinh La Thang, and Chairman of HCMC People's Committee, Nguyen Thanh Phuong. At the same time, the visiting Minister will also attend a luncheon on bilateral cooperation, which will convene governmental representatives, officials of local provinces, representatives of Italian infrastructure companies and main Italian investors operating in Ho Chi Minh city. In 2013, Italy and Vietnam signed a joint statement on the establishment of strategic partnership between the two countries. Two-way trade turnover between Italy and Vietnam exceeded 4 billion USD in 2015. In November 2015, after the visit of the Prime Minister Renzi in 2014, the State visit of the President Mattarella to Vietnam marked a further milestone in the two countries' strategic relations. (AGI) .