In a phone call with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on April 20, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked that the country soon ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), urge the EU to quickly remove its “yellow card” on marine products from Vietnam, soon recognize its vaccine passports, and create favorable conditions for Vietnamese goods to access the country. Prime Minister Draghi affirmed that Italian businesses wish to invest in Vietnam in a host of fields.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that a shipment including 2,021,360 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine provided to Vietnam by the Italian Government via the COVAX mechanism arrived in Hanoi on October 15. Italy has so far donated a total of more than 2.8 million doses of vaccine to support Vietnam’s vaccination campaign.