Vietnam–Italy Cooperation Forum in Milan Emphasizes Sustainable Growth

The Chairman of Vietnam’s National Assembly, Tran Thanh Man, said Vietnam and Italy have favorable conditions to complement each other by leveraging their respective strengths to support sustainable, inclusive, and self-reliant growth.

Speaking during his working visit in Milan, Italy, on the morning of April 13 local time, Chairman Tran Thanh Man and a high-level Vietnamese delegation attended the Policy Forum on promoting Vietnam–Italy cooperation.

Vietnam’s development priorities and investment outlook

The Chairman noted that after four decades of renewal, opening up, and integration, Vietnam has risen strongly. He said Vietnam is pursuing three strategic breakthroughs: developing strategic infrastructure; improving institutions and creating a transparent, favorable investment environment; and developing a high-quality workforce, innovation, science-and-technology application, digital transformation, and the development of a green, circular, and knowledge-based economy.

He cited that Vietnam’s economy is estimated at about $514 billion, ranking 32nd globally and 4th in ASEAN. Per capita income in 2025 reached $5,026, placing Vietnam among upper-middle-income countries.

Chairman Tran Thanh Man also highlighted Vietnam’s role in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI). He said Vietnam is among the world’s 15 developing countries attracting the largest FDI, with cumulative registered FDI of about $530 billion. In 2025, he said Vietnam remained a stable and sustainable destination for international investment, with registered capital exceeding $38.4 billion.

Scale of bilateral investment and areas for cooperation

The Chairman emphasized that Vietnam and Italy share a long-standing friendship grounded in trust, mutual respect, and shared values of peace, development, and prosperity. He said their strategic partnership has strengthened across economics, trade, investment, culture, education, and people-to-people exchanges, with Italy described as a key partner for Vietnam in Europe and Vietnam characterized as a dynamic economy in the Asia-Pacific with an improving investment climate, a young workforce, a large market, and deep integration.

He said Italian investors have funded 167 projects in Vietnam with registered capital of over $633 million, ranking 31st among 154 investing countries and territories in Vietnam. He added that while the current scale of bilateral investment cooperation remains modest, its potential is very large.

Forum focus: policy measures and business linkages

In the context of globalization and ongoing green and digital transformations worldwide, Chairman Tran Thanh Man said Vietnam and Italy can support each other and capitalize on their strengths. He outlined four priority directions:

• Continue improving institutional and legal frameworks to facilitate trade and investment between the two countries, especially as the EVFTA is being effectively implemented.
• Promote cooperation in areas where Italy has strengths and Vietnam has demand, including manufacturing, high-tech, the green transition, renewable energy, infrastructure, supporting industries, and food processing.
• Strengthen business linkages between the two countries to help small- and medium-sized enterprises participate more deeply in global value chains, and advance cooperation in innovation and digital transformation.
• Advance the role of both countries’ parliaments in supervising and refining mechanisms and policies, and in creating a stable, transparent, and favorable legal environment for long-term cooperation.

Italian business perspective

At the forum, Veronica Squinzi, Vice Chair for International Affairs of the Lombardy Business Association—part of the Lombardy Industrial Confederation and the Federation of Italian Employers—said expanding economic, trade, and industrial cooperation with Vietnam is strategically significant amid a volatile global economy, rising geopolitical tensions, and ongoing restructuring of value chains.

She said the Lombardy side views Vietnam as a stable partner with a solid reform foundation and deep international integration, and that it is suitable for jointly promoting innovation, increasing economic resilience, and pursuing sustainable and inclusive development.