Tiếng Việt
普通话
The Italian Trade Agency (ITA), in cooperation with the Embassy of Italy in Hanoi, organized a workshop today, June 5, to promote and develop new opportunities of trade, investment and technological collaboration between Italy and Vietnam as part of a partnership for innovation and sustainability.
Giuseppe Conte, the prime minister of Italy, attended the event as part of his ongoing visit to Vietnam.
The workshop was also attended by a number of representatives of leading Italian companies and manufacturing associations in a number of fields: machine tools, robots and industrial automation.
In light of the Vietnamese Government’s current focus on advanced technology and environmentally friendly investment projects such a renewable energy, smart infrastructure and machinery, the workshop offered both countries and their firms a chance to enhance cooperation.
Conte emphasized the potential for collaboration between Italy and Vietnam.
“We admire Vietnam’s gross domestic product growth. Vietnam has a double advantage: it can be both a consumption market for and a manufacturing partner of Italian companies in the age of Industry 4.0.” he said.
“At the moment, Vietnam is also aiming to lower manufacturing costs by using more advanced technology and digitalization in the context of Industry 4.0. To this end, Italy has 800 technology research institutes, capable of helping Vietnam to reach this goal,” stated Carlo Ferro, president of ITA.
The workshop also showcased the success of Italian efforts to assist Vietnamese companies in improving product quality through the example of the Italy-Vietnam Footwear Technological Training Center for technology transfer, consultancy and the training of trainers in the footwear industry.
Italy is now well-positioned to enhance business ties with Vietnam, particularly in technology innovation, as the latter is gearing toward a smart industry and circular economy, which is presented as a system of resource utilization where the reduction, reuse and recycling of elements prevails.
Vu Tien Loc, president of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the Vietnamese business community is very keen on and leading the way toward achieving sustainable development goals. Currently, Vietnam is being selective in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), choosing to direct FDI projects to fields that use advanced technology, especially ecofriendly technology.
“Each year, Vietnam will need US$25 billion for infrastructure development alone but cannot use ODA investment as it did before, so public-private partnerships are now a highly viable option,” Loc said.