Former Quebec premier Jean Charest (Photo: The Canadian Press) Ottawa (VNA) - Former Quebec premier Jean Charest has suggested Vietnam and Canada cooperate in sectors such as infrastructure, health care, and medical education.
In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), Charest said there is ample room for the two countries to step up trade ties, adding that their exports are reciprocal.
Though Vietnam is Canada’s largest trade partner in ASEAN, two-way trade accounts for just 0.7 percent of the North American country’s total, he said.
The two countries have yet to bring into full play the advantages brought about by the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), he pointed out.
With Canada’s implementation of the updated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Vietnamese investors in Canada will have opportunities to access both the US and Mexico.
Meanwhile, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), signed by Vietnam and 14 other countries in mid-November, offers a new view on investment in Vietnam, Charest said.
Canada attaches importance to growing ties with Vietnam, a centre of FTAs in the Asia-Pacific, he said, adding that it can act as a bridge for Canadian goods and services to access the 660 million-strong ASEAN market.
Vietnam should be considered as an investment destination by Canadian companies wishing to penetrate into Asia, he stressed./.
VNA
