Vietnam, Canada to increase multifaceted cooperation
VOV.VN - Vietnam and Canada will work to boost multifaceted cooperation bilaterally and multilaterally, agreed Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and his Canadian counterpart Marc Garneau during their phone talks on June 14.
FM Son highly appreciated Canada’s policy of strengthening relations with ASEAN in general and Vietnam in particular. He congratulated Canada on its successful containment of the COVID-19 pandemic, paving the way for it to open up and recover the economy.
He also thanked Canada for providing practical support for Vietnam in disaster recovery in the central region and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in vaccine accessibility.
For his part, Garneau congratulated Son on his new position as Foreign Minister of Vietnam and affirmed Canada’s desire to further deepen the Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries.
He spoke highly of Vietnam’s efforts in COVID-19 control and the close coordination between the two countries in responding to the pandemic over the recent times. He reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to supporting Vietnam and other countries in the region in accessing COVID-19 vaccines through the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, the COVAX initiative and the COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund.
Both sides expressed their satisfaction at the positive development of the Vietnam - Canada relations in various areas, especially since the lifting of their relationship to a Comprehensive Partnership level in 2017 and implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2019.
Despite the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, they said two-way trade turnover between the two countries reached US$5 billion in 2020, an increase of 31% compared to the period before the CPTPP took effect.
Both sides agreed to take specific measures to promote bilateral relations to celebrate 50 years of their diplomacy in 2023. Accordingly, Vietnam and Canada will increase the exchange of delegations at all levels when conditions permit, and regularly maintain cooperation mechanisms between the two foreign ministries.
Both countries will expand cooperation in various fields, including COVID-19 prevention and control and vaccine accessibility. They vowed to work hard to raise two-way trade value to US$8 billion in the next two years, and encourage their businesses to take advantage of the opportunities of the CPTPP.
They also agreed to strengthen cooperation in education, finance and digital economy, innovation, sustainable development, renewable energy, climate change response, as well as cooperation between their localities.
The two diplomats also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, including the East Sea issue, stressing the need to uphold the observance of international law, particularly and 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
They proposed both countries work closely at regional and international forums such as the United Nations, APEC, ASEAN, and Francophonie.
