Vietnamese President visits Europe

Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong left Hanoi Sunday morning to pay an official visit to Austria, make a state-level visit to Italy, and tour the Vatican until July 28.

His visits will be made at the invitation of President of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen, President of Italy Sergio Mattarella, and Pope Francis.

Vietnam and Austria celebrated the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations in 2022. Currently, Austria is among the 10 largest European trading partners of Vietnam with two-way trade reaching nearly $3.35 billion in 2021, up 5.5% year-on-year. The figure was $2.79 billion in 2022, down 16.7% due to the pandemic.

Bilateral cooperation in the fields of science-technology, culture and development cooperation have also seen positive progress.

The two sides have agreed to maintain the exchange of delegations and contacts at all levels, strengthen trade and investment promotion activities, and expand cooperation in areas of Austria’s strengths and Vietnam’s demands such as renewable energy, climate change response, waste treatment, and processing industries.

About 6,000 Vietnamese are living in Austria, according to Vietnam News Agency (VNA).

Meanwhile, Vietnam and Italy mark 50 years of diplomatic relations and 10 years of their strategic partnership this year.

Two-way trade hit $6.2 billion in 2022, up 11% from the previous year. The two sides aim to raise the tally to $10 billion in the coming years.

Italy is Vietnam's third largest European trade partner, while Vietnam is Italy's biggest trade partner among ASEAN countries. About 5,000 Vietnamese people are living in Italy, VNA reported.

Relations between Vietnam and the Holy See have seen great progress in recent years, with regular contacts and consultations, exchanges of high-level delegations, as well as frequent pastoral visits to Vietnam by the Non-Resident Papal Representative Archbishop Marek Zalewski.

At the 10th meeting of the Vietnam-Vatican Joint Working Group in March 2023, the two sides discussed and agreed on the status of the Resident Papal Representative in Vietnam.

High-ranking Vietnamese leaders have previously visited the Vatican, including Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (January 2013); National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung (March 2014); President Nguyen Minh Triet (December 2009); Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (January 2007 and October 2014); Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan (July 2015); and President Tran Dai Quang (November 2016).