At the “Developing the Vietnam-Canada Business Partnership” webinar (Photo: VNA)Ottawa (VNA) - Vietnam and Canada should utilise the Comprehensiveand Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), to which bothare signatories, and other free trade agreements (FTAs) to better facilitatebilateral trade and investment ties, Vietnamese Ambassador to Canada Pham CaoPhong has said.
Despite the serious impact of the COVID-19pandemic, Vietnam-Canada relations continued to flourish in 2020, with two-waytrade enjoying a year-on-year rise of 11.2 percent, Phong told the “Developing theVietnam-Canada Business Partnership” webinar held jointly by the VietnameseEmbassy, the Government of Quebec, and the ASEAN-Canada Business Council onJanuary 20.
He added that the pandemic is also a chance forthe two countries to seek more innovative and effective measures to fosterbilateral relations.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Canada Pham Cao Phong (Photo: VNA)John F.G Hannaford, Deputy Minister ofInternational Trade at Global Affairs Canada, said he admires Vietnam’s effectiveresponse to COVID-19 and affirmed the important role of internationalcooperation amid the pandemic.
Vietnam’s maintenance of an open supply chainfor essential goods and services has supported uninterrupted trade flowsbetween Canada and Southeast Asia, he said, stressing that Canada commits tointensifying its trade ties with Vietnam.
Canada sees big opportunities for cooperationin the fields of food processing, agriculture, education, information andcommunications technology, and infrastructure in Vietnam, and hopes to attractmore investment from the country, he added.
Speaking at the webinar, Deputy Minister ofIndustry and Trade Do Thang Hai said that Vietnam can be viewed as a “centre ofFTAs”, with several major and important agreements signed recently, such as theCPTPP (representing 13 percent of global GDP), the EU-Vietnam Free TradeAgreement (16 percent of global GDP), and the Regional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP) (32 percent of global GDP).
The country hopes to be a reliable destinationand bridge connecting Canada and ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific, Hai said.
As of November 2020, Canada was 14th amongcountries and territories investing in Vietnam, with 212 projects worth over5.05 billion USD./.
VNA
