Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Duong Hai Hung speaks at the event. (Photo: VNA)

The conference brought together more than 120 delegates from diplomatic missions, government agencies, and businesses, discussing key issues in bilateral relations, particularly in trade, culture, and tourism between Italy and Asian countries.

Attending the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Duong Hai Hung emphasised that the Vietnam-Italy Strategic Partnership has developed robustly over the past years.

Vietnam is currently Italy's largest trading partner in ASEAN, with bilateral trade turnover reaching 6.9 billion USD in 2024, an increase of 13.1% year-on-year.

The presence of the Leonardo Group along with credit institutions SACE and Simest in Vietnam has contributed to boosting trade and investment flows between the two countries and promoting "made-in-Italy" products in the 100 million-strong Vietnamese market.

The conference featured four thematic discussion sessions, attracting over 20 speakers. Experts focused on discussing the cultures and traditions of four Asian countries closely linked to Italy - Vietnam, Thailand, China, and Japan - as well as issues related to tourism, agriculture, sustainable development, trade, and contemporary arts.

Speaking to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s correspondents in Italy, Francesca Leoncini, a representative of the Rome City Council, affirmed that Asia is a market full of potential for Italian businesses. Particularly, Vietnam is considered a country with great growth potential and is highly valuated by Rome and Italy in their strategies to develop partnerships.

In terms of tourism, experts highlighted the important role of Asian tourists in Italy's tourism industry.

Elia Rosciano, President of the Federation of Italian Non-Hotel Guesthouse Associations, expressed his confidence in the potential for cooperation between the two sides, especially in attracting more Vietnamese tourists to Italy.

Representatives of Italian companies, such as wine producer Marchesi Mazzei and consultancy firm Mediterraneo, noted that Vietnam is a promising market with increasing consumer demand and a favourable investment environment./.