Vietnamese Consul General in Vancouver Nguyen Quang Trung (second from the right) attends the launch of a Forestry Innovation Investment (FII) office in the southern province of Binh Duong on April 20. (Photo: VNA)The FII office in Binh Duong, a major industrial hub, is the third of its kind set up overseas by British Columbia with a view to ensuring a supply of sustainable softwood products with origin certified in Vietnam.
Vietnam is currently the world’s second largest exporter of wooden furniture. The volume of softwood British Columbia exported to the country grew 59 percent during 2017 - 2021.
Addressing the launch via videoconference, British Columbia’s Minister of State for Trade George Chow said the office opening is also a chance for his province to promote its trade and investment reputation.
Vietnam’s Consul General in Vancouver Nguyen Quang Trung applauded the opening, noting that together with many other substantive activities between Vietnamese provinces and British Columbia, it is among the practical moves towards the fifth anniversary of the countries’ comprehensive partnership in 2022 and the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties next year.
He also pledged that the Consulate General of Vietnam in Vancouver will serve as a bridge for economic activities between British Columbia and Vietnamese localities.
Despite the pandemic’s impacts, trade between Vietnam and British Columbia still reached 2.5 billion CAD (about 2 billion USD) in 2021, Trung noted, citing statistics as showing that the Canadian province exports about 20 million CAD worth of wood to Vietnam each year./.
VNA
