Canadian province has high hopes for stronger economic ties with Vietnam
New Consul General of Vietnam to Vancouver (Canada) Nguyen Quang Trung had a virtual meeting with Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation Revi Kahlon and Minister of State for Trade George Chow of British Columbia province on April 16.
Trung highlighted the sound cooperation in various areas between Vietnam and Canada, as well as between Vietnam and British Columbia, in recent years, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the pandemic’s impacts, trade between Vietnam and the Canadian province still approximated CAD2 billion (nearly US$1.6 billion) in 2020, he noted.
The two ministers of British Columbia affirmed that the province’s administration wishes to expand international cooperation, especially with the Asia-Pacific region.
Vietnam is currently expected to become a bridge for Canadian goods and services to access the market of nearly 660 million consumers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), they said.
As the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is opening up new opportunities, the ministers also expressed their interest in the potential for cooperation with Vietnam in the wood, coal, and fisheries industries and technology application to agriculture.
Vietnam, one the 10 most open economies in the world, is emerging as an attractive destination for many investors from British Columbia, Trung said, voicing his belief that the two sides will become great partners as Vietnam and Canada now have the best-ever economic and political ties.
The Vietnamese diplomat and the British Columbia ministers also agreed to exert efforts to realise the Vietnam-Canada comprehensive partnership, set up in 2017.
