On October 17, in Bologna province, the Nghe An provincial delegation attended the Vietnam-Italy Local Partnership and Cooperation Conference co-organized by the Vietnamese Embassy and the Emilia - Romagna regional government.

Attending the conference, on the Vietnamese side were Ambassador Duong Hai Hung; Mr. Nguyen Dong Trung - Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and leaders of the provinces: Kon Tum, Ha Nam. Nghe An provincial leaders had Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee (PPC) Bui Dinh Long attend.

On the Italian side, there were Mr. Alessio Mammi - Vice President of the Emilia-Romagna Region; Napoleone Cera - Member of the Puglia Regional Council, along with representatives of the Macerata province and the cities: Zeri, Filottrano, Prato, agencies, associations, and 150 enterprise delegates of the Emilia-Romagna Region attending.

The Local Connection Conference is the first initiative held in the Republic of Italy to promote trade and investment cooperation between the two countries in the coming time.

At the conference, Vice Chairman of Nghe An PPC Bui Dinh Long presented information on the geographical location, area, population, potential advantages, achievements in socio-economic development of the province, cooperation results between Nghe An and partners of the Republic of Italy; at the same time, emphasized the needs for cooperation in the coming time, especially in the fields of technology, mechanical industry, and new energy.

The Vice Chairman of Nghe An PPC expressed his belief that the conference is an opportunity for localities to learn and seek cooperation opportunities, and at the same time hoped that delegates and enterprises would take the time to visit and survey the potential advantages of Nghe An province in the fields of trade, investment and tourism. Nghe An province commits to always accompany and create favorable conditions for Italian enterprises to develop sustainably and long-term.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to Italy Duong Hai Hung believed that the Conference would bring many good results in the working sessions and sideline contacts as well as in the long term.

Mr. Alessio Mammi - Vice President of Emilia-Romagna Region expressed his joy and honor to welcome delegates from Vietnam to attend the conference; at the same time expressed his hope that through this, understanding will be enhanced, exchanges and cooperation agreements between the two sides will be promoted.

Mr. Napoleone Cera - Member of the Puglia Regional Council emphasized that, based on the relationship between Vietnam and Italy over the past 50 years, the Puglia Region is confident in the opportunity to develop cooperation between Vietnamese localities and this conference is an opportunity and prospect for localities of the two countries to meet and discuss cooperation prospects in various fields. The Puglia region, with its central location in the Mediterranean, has developed a large international cooperation network, including with Viet Nam.

Before the conference, the Nghe An delegation attended four working sessions with leaders of Bologna city, the Italian Federation of Commerce, Industry, Crafts and Agriculture and a number of Italian business associations. In particular, the working meetings with the Vice President of the Emilia-Romagna Region and the Councilor of the Puglia Region. The meetings helped both sides learn about potentials and advantages, and suggest suitable areas of cooperation in the future.

Emilia-Romagna is a region with a very large number of products with geographical indications, worth nearly 4 billion Euros, accounting for about 40% of the national value, famous for its manufacturing industry with products with globally famous brands such as: Lamborghini, Ducati, IMA SPA, Marposs.

In addition, the region is also the food and agricultural center of the country. The agricultural sector is the second largest export sector after the mechanical and mechatronics industries.

In the Emilia-Romagna region, the province of Bologna ranks first in terms of export ratio and number of active companies, 59% of exports come from high-end specialty products, exports to Viet Nam account for 30% of the region's turnover and more than 4% of the national turnover. The main export items are machinery and equipment.

Vice Chairman of the PPC Bui Dinh Long and the delegation visits the factory of Unitec Spa Group

Previously, from October 14 to 16, the delegation of Nghe An province and localities of Ha Nam and Kon Tum visited and worked with the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy; visited and worked with Unitec Spa Group; Italy-Vietnam Trade Association and Delta Del Po National Park.

Vice Chairman of the PPC Bui Dinh Long speaks at a working session at the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy

Viet Nam is Italy's largest trading partner in ASEAN, with a 22% increase in 2022 alone right after the two countries signed the FTA. In 2023, in the context of negative export growth to Europe, Viet Nam's export turnover to this Southern European country will still increase by 1%, and in the first 6 months of 2024, it will increase by 9.5%.

However, Italy's investment in Viet Nam is still low, ranking 33^rd among countries investing in Viet Nam. In 2024, however, the two countries are actively promoting the cooperation process; Italy has opened representative offices of two very strong financial institutions in Viet Nam, namely the Export Credit Fund with a capital of 60 billion Euros for import-export enterprises of the two countries and the Pension Fund with 400 billion Euros for enterprises of this country to invest in economies with stable politics and high trust to generate profits and preserve pension benefits.

The above activities are expected to attract a wave of Italian enterprises investing in Viet Nam. Another favorable condition to promote trade and investment cooperation between the two countries is that in July 2025, Viet Nam Airlines is expected to open a direct flight to Italy.

The cooperation results between Nghe An and Italy are still modest, with export turnover to Italy in 2023 reaching nearly 1.6 million USD and import turnover reaching more than 400 thousand USD. However, the two sides have many similarities and many potential strengths for cooperation.

The visit and work of Vice Chairman of Nghe An PPC Bui Dinh Long in Italy this time aimed to promote cooperation between the two sides in the coming time; through activities to contact organizations, associations, and Italian enterprises, creating a bridge to introduce enterprises to learn, invest, and do business in Nghe An province.

Source: Nghe An Newspaper (October 18, 2024)