Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Trần Thanh Mẫn held talks with President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Lorenzo Fontana. — VNA/VNS Photo

ROME — Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Trần Thanh Mẫn held talks in Italy with President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Lorenzo Fontana on Tuesday afternoon (local time), as part of his official visit to the European country.

Welcoming the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, Lorenzo Fontana described the visit as an important milestone marking a new phase in bilateral relations. He expressed his keen interest in Việt Nam and admiration for its recent socio-economic achievements.

He also extended congratulations to Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm and other newly elected Vietnamese leaders. Emphasising that Italy was among the first European countries to establish diplomatic ties with Việt Nam, he reaffirmed the desire to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two nations.

Mẫn noted with satisfaction the positive development of the traditional friendship in more than 50 years of diplomatic relations and over a decade of strategic partnership. He highlighted the significant potential for expanding cooperation beyond traditional areas such as trade, investment and education to include Italy’s strengths like fashion, digital economy, green economy and energy.

He also underscored that a direct air route between Hà Nội and Milan will help enhance people-to-people exchanges and promote cultural and tourism connections. During his visit, he called on the Italian side to continue providing favourable legal conditions for the Vietnamese community living, studying and working in the country.

Discussing future steps towards upgrading bilateral ties, the top Vietnamese lawmaker proposed the two legislative bodies further strengthen political trust through increased delegation exchanges. He also stressed the importance of sharing lawmaking and oversight experiences, improving legal frameworks, and enhancing the role of parliaments in implementing bilateral agreements and high-level commitments.

In addition, the NA chairman emphasised the need to closely link parliamentary diplomacy with substantive cooperation, enhance connectivity between localities, and strengthen coordination at international and regional organisations.

The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to deepening and further promoting the Việt Nam-Italy relationship through both bilateral and multilateral channels. Mẫn pledged that Việt Nam is ready to act as a solid bridge to bolster relations between the Italian Parliament and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

For his part, Fontana confirmed that he will advocate for the early ratification of the Việt Nam-European Union Investment Protection Agreement by the remaining EU member states' parliaments. He also committed to urging the European Commission to lift the 'yellow card' on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing for Việt Nam's seafood exports.

In light of the increasingly complex international and regional situation, both sides agreed on the necessity of continuing dialogue, strengthening political trust, respecting international law and strongly supporting multilateralism.

Mẫn also invited Fontana to pay an official visit to Việt Nam. The Italian leader gladly accepted the invitation and expressed his desire to pay the visit in the near future. — VNA/VNS