HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese President Võ Văn Thưởng and his wife are to pay visits to Austria, Italy, and the Vatican during July 23-28, at the invitation of Austrian President Alexander van de Belem, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, and Pope Francis.

This is the first visit to Austria by a President of Việt Nam in 15 years, and the first trips to Italy and the Holy See by a Vietnamese head of state in seven years, according to the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Việt Nam Phạm Thu Hằng during the Thursday press briefing.

It is also the biggest highlight in the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Việt Nam-Italy diplomatic relations, and the 10th anniversary of the Việt Nam-Italy strategic partnership, she noted.

Over the last 50 years in Việt Nam-Austria ties have flourished in many areas.

In politics and diplomacy, both sides have maintained exchanges of delegations at high levels and all levels, Hằng noted.

With regards to economic cooperation, Austria is Việt Nam's 10th largest export partner in Europe, and Việt Nam is Austria's leading trading partner within ASEAN.

Bilateral trade between Việt Nam and Austria in 2022 hit US$2.79 billion dollars, and Austria's investment in Việt Nam currently amounts to $128 million.

The spokesperson said relations between Việt Nam and Italy are also continuing to witness positive growth in recent years and this year both sides are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and 10th anniversary of the strategic partnership.

Both sides have maintained exchanges at the high level as well as all levels as well as bilateral cooperation mechanisms.

In terms of economic cooperation, Italy is the third largest trading partner in the European Union and the 36th out of 141 foreign direct investors, and Italy has also committed 117 million euros in ODA to Việt Nam, according to the foreign ministry spokesperson.

"President Võ Văn Thưởng is scheduled to have talks with leaders of Austria and Italy in order to discuss measures to strengthen cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, defence and security, labour and vocational training, renewable energy, and people-to-people exchange, to add further depth to advance ties with Austria and Italy respectively," spokesperson Hằng remarked.

During the visits, in addition, President Thưởng is expected to meet with leaders of Austria and Italian localities, meet with the leaders of various parties in Italy, and meet with the leader of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Regarding the relations between Việt Nam and the Holy See, Hằng said recently it has witnessed "positive progress."

Both sides have maintained high level exchanges as well as the Việt Nam-Holy See joint working group.

Since 2011, the Vatican's non-resident special envoys have been operating in Việt Nam, Hằng said.

As part of the visit to the Holy See, President Thưởng will meet with Pope Francis and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Deputy PM's visit to Egypt, Israel

Spokesperson Hằng also informed the press of the upcoming official visit by Deputy Prime Minister Trần Lưu Quang to Egypt and Israel from July 23-27 to promote the friendship and multilateral cooperation between Việt Nam and these countries.

During the trip, Deputy PM Quang will meet with high level leaders of Israel and Egypt, witnessing the signing of a number of important bilateral cooperation agreements, including the Việt Nam-Israel Free Trade Agreement.

Also on this occasion, Deputy PM Quang will attend the ceremonies commemorating the 50th anniversary of Việt Nam-Israel diplomatic relations and the 60th anniversary of Việt Nam-Egypt diplomatic relations, as well as meet with the Vietnamese community in both countries, Hằng said. — VNS