VIETNAM, July 23 - HÀ NỘI — State President Võ Văn Thưởng and his wife left Hà Nội on Sunday morning for an official visit to Austria, a State visit to Italy and a visit to the Vatican.

The visits, lasting until July 28, are made at the invitations of President of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen, President of Italy Sergio Mattarella and Pope Francis.

This will be the first visit to Austria by a Vietnamese President in the past 15 years, and the first trips to Italy and the Vatican by a Vietnamese head of state in the past seven years. The President's visit to Italy will also be the most important highlight as the two countries are celebrating the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 10th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership in 2023.

President Thuong is accompanied by Chairman of the Presidential Office Lê Khánh Hải, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyễn Văn Hùng, Secretary of the Party Committee of Vĩnh Phúc Hoàng Thị Thúy Lan, Vietnamese Ambassador to Austria Nguyễn Trung Kiên and Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Dương Hải Hưng, among others.

The visits aim to continue implementing the foreign policy of the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam on independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development; promote and deepen Việt Nam’s bilateral cooperation with Austria, Italy and the Vatican. They are also to help boost Viet Nam-EU relations and contribute to enhancing ASEAN-EU ties. — VNS