Dezan Shira & Associates attends the Vietnam-Italy Year ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties

Dezan Shira & Associates was represented by Senior Associate Giovanni Lovisetti at the launch ceremony of the Vietnam-Italy Year 2023, held in Rome on March 31.  

This event celebrated half a century of bilateral diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Italy, while also marked the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership. 

During the ceremony, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang highlighted that Italy is currently one of Vietnam’s leading economic partners in Europe, while Vietnam has become Italy’s largest trading partner in ASEAN. This reflects the growing strength and importance of the bilateral relationship between the two countries. 

Italian Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs and Intl. Cooperation Maria Tripodi speaks at the ceremony

Giovanni, who is based in our Milan Liaison office and has extensive experience in assisting Italian SMEs and multinational companies in their investment process in China, echoed Deputy FM Le remarks by adding: “Due to its location, its business environment and its participation into multiple FTAs, Vietnam is a perfect jurisdiction to run a business both for Italian companies that are approaching the Asian market for the first time, and for those companies that already have operations in China and are looking to expand or diversify their business in the South East Asian region”.  

Giovanni joined the Vietnamese Ambassador Duong Hai Hung in Rome to kickstart the Vietnam-Italy Year 2023  

Vietnam and Italy economic cooperation 

Italy and Vietnam have strengthened their commercial relations with a growth rate of 15% per year on average over the past decade, resulting in a two-way trade turnover that has doubled since 2010, reaching $5.6 billion in 2021. Italian investment in Vietnam has been mainly focused on textiles, footwear, machinery, food processing, and renewable energy, particularly in the offshore wind power industry as part of Vietnam’s blue economy strategy – with Building Energy partnering with Vietnamese company TSV in 2018 to develop a 300 MW wind power project in Ninh Thuan province and Eni signing a memorandum of understanding in 2020 with Vietnamese company PTTEP to cooperate in the development of offshore wind projects in Vietnam. 

Further resources   

For further resources on Vietnam, you can visit our newly launched Portal Doing Business in Vietnam at our website Vietnam Briefing, where you can also find articles such as: 

• Industry Spotlight: Vietnam’s Renewable Energy Market 
• Vietnam’s Import-Export Turnover Tops US$49.3 Billion in February 
• [Guide] Business Relations and Investment Guide to Italy, Singapore, and Vietnam 

You can also visit our publication store, Asia Briefing, which houses in-depth business guides and magazines for multiple regions in Asia. 

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