Hanoi (VNA), June 30 -- The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation have signed an agreement to establish a new Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation .

The signing took place in a teleconference between Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong and Italian Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Manlio Di Stefano on June 30.

The two sides discussed bilateral economic and trade coordination, including in energy, agriculture, industrial machinery, apparel, leather and footwear, and mining, affirming that economic links have been growing in recent years.

Vuong said the Vietnamese and Italian economies are similar and ...