Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (L) and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, the UK, on November 2, 2021 (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - The positive relationship between Canada and Vietnam is strong and growing every year, said Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam Deborah Paul while granting an interview to the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the Lunar New Year (Tet), the most important festival of the Vietnamese people in a year.

The diplomat affirmed that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 was another positive year for the two countries' expanding ties.

Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam Deborah Paul

Trade and investment is an important driver of Canada-Vietnam ties, she said, adding that Vietnam continues to be Canada’s largest trading partner in the ASEAN region.

In the first 11 months of 2021, two-way trade already surpassed the 2020 performance, reaching a record of over 9.5 billion CAD (7.46 billion USD), she noted.

The Canada-Vietnam Joint Economic Committee was recently established, which will provide a forum for greater attention to bilateral trade issues, she said.

The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency and the Trade Facilitation Office Canada on May 31, 2021 (Canada time) signed an agreement to carry out activities enhancing export capacity of women-led businesses in Vietnam for the 2021-2024 period. (Photo: VNA)

The positive momentum in bilateral relations was exemplified on several fronts, including a high-level dialogue between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at COP26 last November in the UK.

In July 2021, during the inaugural Defence Policy Dialogue between Canada and Vietnam, both sides reached agreement on a three-year plan on defence cooperation, said the ambassador.

The Embassy of Vietnam in Canada and the Canada-Vietnam Trade Council held a seminar entitled “Vietnam-Canada Supply Chains Cooperation: Present and Future” in both in-person and virtual forms in Toronto on October 14, 2021. (Photo: VNA)

She said she is proud of the strong people-to-people ties between the two countries that are highlighted through bilateral educational cooperation and exchanges.

Since December 2020, almost 19,000 Vietnamese citizens were granted permits to study in Canada.

Canada promotes cultural diplomacy in Vietnam through the screening of Canadian films – both English and French, and by organising exchange events with Canadian artists.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien (R) and Canadian Deputy Defence Minister Jody Thomas co-chair the first Vietnam-Canada Defence Policy Dialogue via videoconference (July 23, 2021). (Source: VNA)

Commenting on Vietnam’s performance in COVID-19 prevention and control, the diplomat said that Canada is encouraged by the efforts of the Vietnamese government and by the citizens of Vietnam who have come together to combat and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Despite the pandemic, Vietnam’s economy has remained resilient, and Vietnam has taken decisive steps to limit both the health and economic fallout, she noted.

Canada is pleased to contribute to Vietnam’s ongoing efforts to overcome the impact of the pandemic. “Canada has provided international assistance to help fight and prevent COVID-19, and we are one of the top contributors to COVAX globally,” the ambassador said.

Canada recently contributed 3 million CAD (2.35 million USD) to support the project “Leveraging Vietnam’s social impact business ecosystem in response to COVID-19 (ISEE-COVID)”.

This project will enable many social impact businesses and women-focused ones to respond to COVID-19 impacts by offering vulnerable people and the poor jobs and livelihoods.

The ambassador underlined that Canada sees women’s empowerment as the most effective means to reduce poverty globally.

Consistent with evolving Vietnamese priorities and its transition to middle income country status, Canada is shifting its collaboration with Vietnam to more targeted technical assistance focused on inclusive economic growth with an emphasis on gender equality, she said.

Currently, key sectors of support include food safety, trade facilitation, public-private partnership, women’s economic empowerment, and support to SMEs, cooperatives and social impact business.

🎃 “We are prioritising engagement with the private sector in order to leverage private sector resources to help achieve the sustainable development goals,” the Ambassador added./.