In his interview granted to Vietnam News Agency’scorrespondents ahead of the visit, former Ambassador Devine said that in thelast five years, the two countries have seen tremendous growth in trade,investment and education.
In the field of education, the number of Vietnamese studentscoming to Canada to study enjoyed the growth rate of 30 percent in 2015 and2016, with around 7,500 students each year.
According to a recent survey, Canada is the third mostpopular destination for Vietnamese students, he stated.
In terms of trade, Vietnam became the largest trade partnerof Canada among ASEAN countries in 2015, with two-way trade reaching 5.5billion CAD (4.3 billion USD) last year and being on uptrend. There are also alot of Canadian enterprises running business in Vietnam in agriculture, fertiliserand aerospace.
“Another area which is quite important is developmentassistance,” Devine stated, adding that Canada-invested projects have helpedeliminate poverty and strengthen economic conditions in Vietnam.
Canada has also assisted Vietnam in coordinating withinternational organisations such as the UN Development Programme and the WorldBank to build some economic foundations for development, he added.
For prospects for bilateral cooperation, the formerambassador suggested the two countries consider the expansion of collaborationin high technology, insurance and innovation solution, along with agricultureand education.-VNA