At the invitation of the President of the Republic of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen, the President of the Republic of Italy Sergio Mattarella and Pope Francis, President Vo Van Thuong and his wife left Noi Bai International Airport in the capital Hanoi on the morning of July 23 and set off for an official visit to the Republic of Austria, a state visit to the Republic of Italy and a visit to the Vatican from July 23-28.

This is the first visit of the Vietnamese President to Austria in 15 years and the first exchange of state delegations between Vietnam and Italy and the Vatican in 7 years.

The President and his wife Phan Thi Thanh Tam were accompanied during the visit by: the Chairman of the Presidential Office, Le Khanh Hai; Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son; Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung; Hoang Thi Thuy Lan, secretary of Vinh Phuc Provincial Party Committee; Deputy Defense Minister 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 Procuratorate Nguyen Quang Dung; Binh Dinh Pham Anh Tuan Provincial People’s Committee Chairman; Assistant to President Duong Quoc Hung; Vietnamese Ambassador to Austria Nguyen Trung Kien; Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Duong Hai Hung.

As part of the visit, President Vo Van Thuong will hold talks with leaders of Austria and Italy to discuss measures to promote cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, defense and security, labor and vocational training, renewable energy and personal exchanges to deepen Vietnam-Austria and Vietnam-Italy cooperation.

The President will hold meetings with leaders of both countries, local leaders and leaders of several Italian political parties and will work with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The President will meet with Pope Francis and Vatican Prime Minister Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

President Vo Van Thuong’s visit to Austria, Italy and the Vatican aims to further implement the 13th Congress’ foreign policy on independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development; Strengthening and deepening of bilateral cooperation with Austria, Italy and the Vatican; by Austria and Italy to promote Vietnam-EU relations and help promote ASEAN-EU relations.