Populist prime minister Giuseppe Conte will on Wednesday begin a two-day visit to Vietnam, where he will hold talks with country's premier Nguyen Xuan and attend a high-level forum on strengthening ties between Italy and Asean during his stay, Conte's office said in a statement.
Conte will meet Phuc at the prime minister's office in Hanoi on Wednesday before giving a talk at the 'Italian technologies for Vietnam’s smart and circular economy' side event at the Hotel Melia, the statement said.
Later on Wednesday, Conte is due to attend a reception and dinner hosted by Italy's ambassador to Vietnam, according to the statement.
On Thursday, Conte will give an opening address at the third High-Level Dialogue on Asean Italy Economic Relations, the statement said.
The event is being attended by ministers and business leaders as well as the heads of European and Asian institutions, according to its organisers.
The forum will cover Asean area's macroeconomic outlook, smart infrastructure, logistics, and connectivity, digitalisation, cybersecurity and technologies for sustainability and resilience, advanced manufacturing, automation and capital goods, creativity, design and business innovation, finance, and trade agreements, according to its provisional programme.
Asean countries form the fifth largest economy in the world and are predicted to become the fourth biggest in 2030. The forum comes as the European Union is negotiating trade and investment protection accords with Asean countries, including ones with Vietnam and Singapore which are expected to enter into force shortly, creating new business opportunities which Italian and other European firms are eager to seize.
