TheFII office in Binh Duong, a major industrial hub, is the third of its kind setup overseas by British Columbia with a view to ensuring a supply of sustainablesoftwood products with origin certified in Vietnam.
Vietnamis currently the world’s second largest exporter of wooden furniture. Thevolume of softwood British Columbia exported to the country grew 59 percentduring 2017 - 2021.
Addressingthe launch via videoconference, British Columbia’s Minister of State for TradeGeorge Chow said the office opening is also a chance for his province topromote its trade and investment reputation.
Vietnam’sConsul General in Vancouver Nguyen Quang Trung applauded the opening, notingthat together with many other substantive activities between Vietnameseprovinces and British Columbia, it is among the practical moves towards thefifth anniversary of the countries’ comprehensive partnership in 2022 and the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties next year.
Healso pledged that the Consulate General of Vietnam in Vancouver will serve as abridge for economic activities between British Columbia and Vietnameselocalities.
Despitethe pandemic’s impacts, trade between Vietnam and British Columbia stillreached 2.5 billion CAD (about 2 billion USD) in 2021, Trung noted, citingstatistics as showing that the Canadian province exports about 20 million CADworth of wood to Vietnam each year./.
VNA