NA Vice Chairman Phùng Quốc Hiển (second left) holds talks with Vice President of the Italian Senate Ignazio La Russa in Rome on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Ngự Bình

ROME — The Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) was delighted at the growth of the country's relations with Italy and hoped for stronger ties with the Italian parliament, NA Vice Chairman Phùng Quốc Hiển said during his talks with Vice President of the Italian Senate Ignazio La Russa in Rome on Wednesday.

Hiển said the working visit by the Vietnamese NA delegation aimed to enhance the Việt Nam-Italy strategic partnership and co-operation between their parliaments.
According to Hiển, the two economies shared similarities that provided advantages for economic partnerships.

Many Italian businesses have already invested in the country, mainly in manufacturing.
He welcomed Italy’s provision of 100 million EUR (US$109.6 million) in official development assistance (ODA) for climate change response and water resource management projects in Việt Nam. 
He also called on Italy to soon ratify the Free Trade Agreement and the Investment Protection Agreement between Vietnam and the European Union.
Hiền asked the two parliaments to continue supporting each other at multilateral forums and increase mutual visits by parliamentary leaders, agencies and friendship groups.
He said he hoped that Italy would continue supporting the peaceful settlement of disputes to ensure stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea in line with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct (DOC) of Parties in the East Sea, and supporting efforts to finalise a Code of Conduct (COC) in the waters.
La Russa appreciated Việt Nam’s co-operation and attention to relations with Italy.
Italy wished to strengthen the two countries’ friendship and co-operation in politics, economics and culture, he said, adding that they should also increase defence collaboration.
Việt Nam and Italy had co-operated well in industrial production, railway construction, culture and education, while bilateral connections in education were promising, the host official said.
At the Italian Senate, NA Vice Chairman Hiển also met with head of the finance committee Alberto Bagnai, head of the public works committee Mauro Coltorti and head of the agriculture committee Gianpaolo Vallardi. — VNS