A culture fair entitled “Italian Square 2018” opened at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel in Hanoi on November 10, showing close relations between Vietnam, Hanoi and the European nation.The opening ceremony saw the attendance of Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung, Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Cecilia Piccioni and other ambassadors, heads of diplomatic missions and international organizations in Hanoi.
Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung made speech at the event. Photo: Kinhtedothi.vn
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Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung said that November is the best time of Hanoi’s autumn. The space of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long is a perfect rendezvous for the two cultures of Vietnam and Italy, contributing to bringing the finest characteristics of Italian culture closer to the Vietnamese and Hanoian residents.
Currently, Italy is the fourth largest trading partner of Vietnam in the EU and Vietnam is the ASEAN largest trade partner. In recent years, the number of Italian tourists to Vietnam has always been on the rise, especially since Vietnam has granted visa exemptions unilaterally for Italian travelers to Vietnam to stay less than 15 days, Chung noted.
This year's Italian cultural fair sees the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long transformed into an Italian square (Piazza Italia) with booths for Italian food and wine tasting, fashion design exhibitions and concerts by Italian and Vietnamese opera singers. Various sport games were also arranged, as visitors could play football with trainers from the Juventus Academy Vietnam.
Chung stressed that this is a great opportunity for Vietnamese, Italians and international tourists to see a little Italian town in the heart of Hanoi, experiencing the essence of a country belonging to one of the earliest civilizations in Europe, just as the motto "Live the way of Italy".
For her part, Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Cecilia Piccioni said the fair offered a chance to bring the two nations closer, while expressing her gratitude to Hanoi’s leaders for their support to bolster cooperation between the city and the Italian Embassy in Vietnam.
Hanoi is currently home to 21 Italian investment projects with total capital of more than US$38 million. The city earned US$142 million from exports to Italy while Italy is Hanoi’s 15th largest tourism market, Piccioni added.
She emphasized that the two-day event was designed to deepen the friendship between Hanoi and Italia’s localities, and part of activities to commemorate the 45th founding anniversary of Vietnam-Italy diplomatic ties (1973-2018).
