On the afternoon of July 25 local time (evening of July 25 Vietnam time), President Vo Van Thuong and his wife ended their official visit to Austria and set off for state visits to Italy and the Vatican.

Seeing off the President and his wife at the airport, on the Austrian side was Director General of Protocol Maximilian Hennig. On the Vietnamese side were Vietnamese Ambassador to Austria Nguyen Trung Kien, Honorary Consul Designated by Vietnam in Austria Markus Kircher, and officials and staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in Austria.

At the invitation of Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Pope Francis, President Vo Van Thuong and his wife will pay a state visit to Italy and the Vatican from July 25-28.

Farewell ceremony for President Vo Van Thuong and his wife at Vienna International Airport. Photo: VNA

Accompanying the President and his wife were Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son; Head of the Office of the President Le Khanh Hai; Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung; Secretary of Vinh Phuc Provincial Party Committee Hoang Thi Thuy Lan; Deputy Minister of National Defense Vo Minh Luong; Deputy Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang; Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Bui The Duy; Deputy Minister of Education and Training Hoang Minh Son; Deputy Director of the Supreme People's Procuracy Nguyen Quang Dung; Chairman of the People's Committee of Binh Dinh Province Pham Anh Tuan; Assistant to the President Duong Quoc Hung; Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Duong Hai Hung.

President Vo Van Thuong's visit to Italy takes place on the occasion of the two countries celebrating the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations (March 23, 1973 - March 23, 2023) and the 10th anniversary of establishing a strategic partnership (January 21, 2013 - January 21, 2023).

The visit takes place 10 years after General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's visit to Italy in January 2013 when the two countries signed a Joint Statement on establishing the Italy-Vietnam Strategic Partnership, a major milestone in bilateral cooperation.

During the meetings, Italian leaders affirmed their respect for the relationship and determination to promote multifaceted cooperation, considering Vietnam a priority for developing relations in the Southeast Asian region.

During his visit in November 2016, Italian President Sergio Mattarella said he was very impressed by the beauty, warm feelings and dynamic development of Vietnam.

Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Antonio Alessandro said that President Sergio Mattarella will welcome President Vo Van Thuong on a state visit. The two heads of state will discuss and review the friendship, solidarity and bilateral cooperation in the past time, and will also outline development orientations for the future.

Regarding Vietnam-Vatican relations, Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang said that this is the first high-level contact between the two sides in the past 7 years, a very important event for the two sides to discuss promoting relations as well as activities of Vietnamese Catholics.

In recent times, Vietnam - Vatican relations have made positive progress. The two sides have maintained high-level contacts and effectively implemented the Joint Working Group mechanism. Since 2011, the Holy See's Non-Resident Special Envoy has officially operated in Vietnam.

Vietnam has always consistently advocated respecting and ensuring freedom of belief and religion, creating favorable conditions for religious activities in general and Catholicism in particular, in accordance with Vietnamese Catholicism.

On the Vatican side, Pope Benedict XVI issued instructions and messages instructing Vietnamese Catholic dignitaries and followers to implement the guidelines of "accompanying the nation", "good Catholics are also good citizens", and encouraging the Vietnamese Catholic community to contribute to the country.

vietnamnet.vn