Ottawa (VNA) – A conference was held in Toronto,Canada on March 11 to help Canadian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) studythe Vietnamese market with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement forTrans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) effective.

Addressing the event, themed “CPTPP: Vietnam”, CanadianMinister of SmallBusiness and Export Promotion Mary Ng affirmed the significance of therelationship between Canada and Vietnam, two members of the CPTPP, as well asthe position of Vietnam as the largest trade partner of Canada in ASEAN.

The minister held that the Vietnam-Canada partnership isstrong, expressing her hope to connect businesses of the two sides to promote two-waytrade.

She said the Canadian side can fund its enterprises’ activitiesto research the market and join trade fairs to seek business opportunities inVietnam.

Statistics showed that in 2018, Canada exported 1.02 billionCAD worth of goods to Vietnam, while importing 5.38 billion CAD worth of commoditiesfrom the country.

Jay Allen, deputy head of CPTPP negotiation team of Canada,highlighted the strengths of the Vietnamese market, including the strategicposition in Southeast Asia, young population, and high GDP growth of more than6 percent annually since 2014.

Allen said cooperation opportunities between the two countriesare abundant in agriculture, aquatic farming, infrastructure, green technology andICT.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nguyen Dai Trang, Director of theCanada-Vietnam Trade Council, said since the CPTPP was ratified, Canadian firmshave paid greater attention to Vietnam.

She revealed that the council will introduce the Vietnamesemarket to Canadian businesses through the organisation of and participation in events,while also helping delegations study the Vietnamese market.

Canada is the only country in the G7 that shares tradeagreements with all members of the group.

The Canadian business community is interested in variousVietnamese products, especially farm produce such as pork, beef, chicken andfresh fruit.-VNA