Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expects to boost cooperation with Canada in fields where they share similar interests, heard a meeting today (March 27).

Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (right) greets the Canadian Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development on March 27. Photo: VGP

Those fields include trade, investment, green transition, digital transformation, hi-tech industries, manufacturing and processing industries, responses to climate change, energy, and science and technology, he told Mary Ng, Canadian Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development as she leads a Canadian trade mission to Vietnam.

He recommended that the governments of Vietnam and Canada organize meetings for high-ranking officials, make the best use of existing agreements, and develop new ones to boost their performances.

Prime Minister Chinh also looked for the Canadian Government to provide better conditions for Vietnamese Canadians to live and work and offer more scholarships for Vietnamese students to study in Canada.

The Vietnamese Government leader forecast that the Vietnam-Canada bilateral relations will progress well in another 50 years, as they have remained, given the fact that the two countries provide each other with supplemental traits.

Amidst global uncertainties, PM Chinh urged the Canadian Government and people to enhance their cooperation with the Vietnamese to address and resolve mutual problems for peace, stability, and sustainable growth based on a people-centric strategy and multilateralism.

“The visit of the Canadian delegation will be a decisive factor that strengthens the Vietnam-Canada Comprehensive Partnership, especially after the two have celebrated the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the diplomatic relations.”

Sharing a similar view with the Vietnamese Prime Minister, Mary Ng said that Canadian enterprises, represented by the executives of some 70 top-tier companies in her country, are highly interested in setting up their operations in Vietnam.

The Canadian government official said that the two sides should make their best efforts to lift the relations to a new height in the future.

She hoped that the two governments would have a plan to raise sources for the implementation of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), thus ensuring a win-win relationship for both.

In informing the Prime Minister about the 2nd meeting of the Vietnam-Canada joint committee on economic relations, Mary Ng said that Canada sees Vietnam as an important partner in Southeast Asia.

Vietnamese and Canadian delegates at the meeting. Photo: VGP

According to her, Canada highly values the role of Vietnam and ASEAN in its strategy targeting the Indian-Pacific region. The Canadian Government anticipates that Vietnam will play a key role in finalizing the ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement soon.

In addition, Canada expects to receive a great deal of support from Vietnam when chairing the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2024.

On his part, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Chinh agreed with Mary Ng’s suggestions regarding Canada’s CPTPP chairmanship in 2024 and the ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement.

“Vietnam can become the bridge that connects Canadian exporters to ASEAN,” he said. “Vietnam hopes that both sides will maximize the performances with existing agreements and come up with new policies to boost relations in trade and investment, thus enlarging the market shares in Canada for Vietnamese companies.”

Speaking of international issues, Prime Minister Chinh asked for Canada’s support for the stance of Vietnam and ASEAN about the East Sea (South China Sea), which concentrates on the freedom and safety of air and sea travel, resolving disputes with peaceful solutions in respect of international laws and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).

Chinh also requested Canada’s statements and actions to make related parties fulfill their obligations as per the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and soon complete and finalize compiling the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

At the meeting, Prime Minister Chinh also sent his regards to his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau and invited him to visit Vietnam soon to upgrade the relationship between the two countries.

Canada is now Vietnam’s third largest trade partner in America, while Vietnam is Canada’s largest ASEAN trade partner. In 2023, trade value between the two economies reached US$6.24 billion. Canada is the 14th largest foreign investor in Vietnam, having set up 247 projects in the latter with a total of $4.82 billion worth of registered capital.