Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, president of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO), awarded the honour to the Italian diplomat at a ceremony in Hanoi on July 13.

In her remarks, Nga highlighted major developments in Vietnam – Italy relations and said during his working term, Alessandro has made contributions to promoting bilateral cooperation in all fields, from politics, diplomacy, and security and defense to economy, trade, investment, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ambassador Antonio Alessandro actively lobbied the Italian Government to donate nearly 3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Vietnam through COVAX, she said.

She also noted that during his working term the economic cooperation was a major pillar in bilateral relations despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with two-way trade turnover last year hitting a record high of US$6.2 billion, up 11% year on year.

The Italian government also placed Vietnam on the list of 20 priority countries for trade and investment promotion by 2030.

The Embassy of Italy and the Italian Cultural Center (Casa Italia) organized many activities such as exhibitions, concerts, and golf tournaments, contributing to enhancing mutual understanding, cultural and tourism cooperation.

Ambassador Alessandro thanked the VUFO president for the honour and vowed to work hard in any future position to help foster cooperation between Italy and Vietnam.

Source: VOV