Footwear is among  Vietnamese products that have a competitive advantage when exporting to Italy. (Photo: VNA)

President Vo Van Thuong’s upcoming State visit to Italy is expected to boost bilateral trade and bring cooperation opportunities for the businesses of the two countries, which share many similarities in economic structure with many small and medium enterprises. Their economies are complementary to each other in terms of industries and products.

At present, Vietnam is Italy's largest trading partner in ASEAN, with two-way trade reaching 6.2 billion USD in 2022, up 11% compared to 2021, according to Vietnam Customs. Specifically, Vietnam's exports to Italy last year totalled 4.4 billion USD, up 14% over the previous year, and its imports from Italy - 1.7 billion USD, up 3.6%.

In the first four months of 2023, two-way trade reached more than 2 billion USD, down 2.7% over the same period in 2022; in which, exports decreased by 3%.

Vietnam's main exports to the Italian market include machinery, equipment, telephones and components, computers and components, means of transport and spare parts, iron and steel, coffee, textiles, and seafood.

Meanwhile, Vietnam mainly imports from Italy mechanical machinery and equipment, plastic and plastic products, pharmaceuticals, furniture, textile accessories, beverages, alcohol, and vinegar.

A representative of the European-American Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) said Vietnamese products that have a competitive advantage when exporting to Italy are cashew nuts, coffee, pepper, phones, components, and footwear.

Vietnamese products with room for further thriving in the Italian market include seafood, vegetables, fruit, cinnamon, star anise, textiles and garment, electric motors, phones, honey, pharmaceuticals, machinery and spare parts, and wood products.

The two countries also collaborate closely in garment-textile, leather-footwear, stone mining and energy.

The MoIT and the Italian Ministry of Economic Development signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the energy field in 2019, and the Vietnamese side is finalizing internal procedures to extend the MoU.

The two sides are also pushing ahead with oil and gas exploration in the Ken Bau field with the participation of Italy’s Eni Group. The Italian Government and Eni Group also want to expand cooperation with Vietnam in other energy areas such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and renewable energy.

The Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation, established in 2014, has held seven meetings and proposed cooperation contents, which contributes to pushing the two-way trade between the two countries.

The two sides are discussing the content of the 8th meeting of the joint committee, slated to take place in Rome in October this year.

At a recent meeting with Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Antonio Alessandro, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien said that the two countries still have a lot of potential to further expand their economic, trade and investment ties in the coming time.

On the occasion, Minister Dien and Ambassador Antonio Alessandro discussed cooperation possibilities in fields that the two sides are interested in, including renewable energy and LNG, as well as solutions to remove obstacles and promote the development of bilateral trade and investment./.