 Vietnam presses on with trade promotion in Italy |
The program in Bologna and Rome is part of the project “Enabling Vietnamese enterprises to directly engage in overseas distribution networks until 2020” approved by the Prime Minister in 2015. Its goal is to boost Vietnamese exports to Italy, create partnership, and popularize made-in-Vietnam products in Italy and Europe.
In Bologna, a Vietnamese delegation headed by Dang Hoang Hai, head of the European Market Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, worked with the Emilia-Romagna Chamber of Commerce and the Coop Italy distribution network and visited Coop Italy supermarkets. They discussed quality standards for each item and requirements for getting Vietnamese products onto the shelves in the supermarkets. Secretary General of the region’s Commerce Chamber Claudio Pasini lauded Vietnam’s potential. He said Vietnam is a strongly growing economy that attracts many foreign investors, including investors from Emilia-Romagna. He said the Emilia-Romagna region has opened an office in Binh Duong to promote its economic links with Vietnamese localities. Vietnamese goods have increased in both quantity and quality in recent years. This, and Vietnam’s young skilled workforce, are factors that increase Vietnam’s competitiveness in the global market.
Italy is the 3rd largest economy in the Eurozone. Rome is one of the most prosperous cities in Europe and the world. Its GDP is 117 billion USD, 6.7% of Italy’s total GDP. Rome is Italy’s leading economic and trading center.
Trade between Vietnam and Italy totaled 4.7 billion USD last year, 8% more than the previous year. Vietnam’s major exports to Italy include phones and accessories, coffee, footwear, garments, textiles, and fishery products.