Canada views Vietnam as a leading important partner regionally
VOV.VN - Canada considers Vietnam a leading important partner in the region that holds an important role in its Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS), said Canadian Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development Mary Ng.
Meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi on March 27, Mary Ng. briefed her host on the outcome of the second meeting of the Vietnam – Canada Joint Economic Committee that took place on the same day.
During the meeting, she said the two sides agreed to bring into full play existing cooperation mechanisms to take bilateral economic - trade and investment cooperation to new heights. They also agreed to implement a plan to mobilize resources for the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) deal to ensure benefits for both sides.
The minister said she was leading a mission of nearly 200 Canadian businesses to Vietnam from March 26 to 29, with a view to increasing connection to trade and investment opportunities, and strengthening supply chain with Vietnam to concretize the goals of the IPS.
Chinh for his part welcomed Mary Ng.’s visit which he said would contribute to strengthening the Vietnam - Canada Comprehensive Partnership in the context that the two countries have just celebrated 50 years of their diplomacy.
Both host and guest shared the view that the two countries hold great potential for stronger cooperation, especially in areas where each side has strengths and is highly complementary to each other.
Chinh proposed that the two sides increase high-level visit exchanges, make the most of the existing cooperation mechanisms and formulate new ones to ramp up cooperation in all fields of trade, investment, green transformation, digital transformation, high-tech industry, processing, manufacturing, climate change response, energy, science and technology, education and training.
Meanwhile, Mary Ng. expected that Vietnam would help speed up negotiations on the ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement and support Canada in its role as the rotating chair of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2024.
In response, Chinh voiced his support for the minister’s proposals and said Vietnam is ready to act as a bridge for Canadian goods to penetrate deeper into ASEAN.
He expected that the two sides would continue to effectively utilize cooperation mechanisms within the framework of the CPTPP as well as other agreed mechanisms to further promote trade and investment capital flows and open the market for Vietnamese goods to make inroads into Canada.
Exchanging views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, Chinh proposed that Canada support Vietnam and ASEAN’s views on the East Sea issue, including ensuring safety and freedom of navigation and aviation, resolving disputes by peaceful means in line with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
