Continuing his working trip to Milan, Italy, on the morning of April 13 local time (afternoon of the same day Vietnam time), Politburo Member, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and the high-level Vietnamese delegation attended the Seminar on Policies to Promote Vietnam - Italy Cooperation.
Speaking at the seminar, the National Assembly Chairwoman shared that after 4 decades of renovation, opening up and integration, Vietnam has risen strongly. Currently, the scale of Vietnam's economy is estimated at about 514 billion USD, ranking 32nd in the world and 4th in ASEAN region. Vietnam's average income per capita in 2025 reached 5,026 USD/year, bringing Vietnam into the group of high-middle-income countries.
The National Assembly Chairwoman stated clearly that Italy is one of Vietnam's top important partners in Europe. Conversely, Vietnam is one of the dynamic economies, developing rapidly in the Asia-Pacific region, with an increasingly improved investment environment, a young labor force, a large market and deep international integration. These are favorable conditions for the two sides to strengthen cooperation and complement each other to develop together.
To date, investors from Italy have invested in Vietnam with 167 projects with a total registered investment capital of more than 633 million USD, ranking 31st/154 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. Overall, the scale of investment cooperation between the two countries is still modest, but the potential for cooperation is very large.
National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man requested the two sides to turn the spirit of cooperation into specific results, focusing on the following priority cooperation orientations:
First, continue to improve the institutional and legal framework, creating more favorable conditions for trade and investment activities between the two countries, especially in the context of the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) being effectively implemented.
Second, promote cooperation in areas where Italy has strengths and Vietnam has needs such as manufacturing industry, high technology, green transformation, renewable energy, infrastructure, supporting industries, food processing...
Third, strengthen business connections between the two countries, support small and medium-sized enterprises to participate more deeply in the global value chain, and promote cooperation in the field of innovation and digital transformation.
Fourth, promote the role of the National Assemblies of the two countries in supervising and perfecting mechanisms and policies and creating a stable, transparent and favorable legal environment for long-term cooperation activities.
After this seminar, I hope that businesses of the two countries will: Meet - Connect - Sign - Deploy. Each project must have clear outputs - inputs - human resources - technology - finance; timelines - specific efficiency measures. Doing together, moving forward together, winning together. The National Assembly of Vietnam is committed to continuing to accompany the Government and the business community in building and perfecting institutions, creating a favorable, transparent and competitive investment and business environment, thereby contributing to promoting Vietnam - Italy cooperation relations to become increasingly substantive, effective and sustainable" - the National Assembly Chairwoman emphasized.
