President Võ Văn Thưởng (second from left) and his spouse attend state banquet hosted by Italian President Sergio Mattarella and his daughter. — VNA/VNS Photo

ROME — Within the framework of his State visit to Italy, President Võ Văn Thưởng and his spouse attended a state banquet hosted by Italian President Sergio Mattarella and his daughter on July 27 evening (local time).

Addressing the event, the Italian leader stressed that both sides need to make more efforts to deepen and diversify bilateral relations in the coming time.

Recalling the State visit to Italy by Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng 10 years ago when the two countries agreed to set up their strategic partnership, the host affirmed that this is an important political framework, helping the bilateral relations gain a lot of achievements today.

In international activities, both Việt Nam and Italy base themselves on the values of peace and multilateralism, which are essential to face current and future challenges, from the fight against poverty and food insecurity to migration, from the combat against international crime to climate change, he stated, adding that Italy recognises and highly values the effectiveness of Việt Nam's international activities, especially its contributions to the United Nations' peacekeeping mission.

The Italian President also affirmed that Việt Nam is an important partner for balance and progress in the Indo-Pacific, to which Italy is paying increasing attention.

For his part, Thưởng said that over the past five decades, on the solid foundation of friendship, Italy and Việt Nam have become each other's increasingly important partner in all fields, from politics, diplomacy to trade, investment, culture, tourism, and education and training; and had close cooperation at both bilateral and multilateral levels.

At present, in a world of constant movement, with many intertwining opportunities and challenges, bilateral cooperation is expanding continuously towards values and common concerns of the international community.

Referring to the contents of his discussions with President Sergio Mattarella and other Italian leaders, Thưởng stated that the two sides have shared the desire and determination to turn the strategic partnership to a new, stronger and more effective page, thus contributing to implementing the common sustainable development goals, solving global issues on the basis of balance and mutual benefit, and exploiting advantages and potential of each country, for the benefits of the two peoples, for peace, cooperation and development in the region and in the world. — VNS