HCM City seeks stronger educational ties with Ontario

HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City wants to step up cooperation in general education and vocational training with the Canadian province of Ontario, said Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong.

At a meeting with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne on December 4, Phong considered his guest’ first official visit to Vietnam as an illustration of the Canadian Government and Ontario’s interest in the Southeast Asian nation and HCM City.

Economic cooperation between HCM City and Ontario remains modest compared to its potential, he said, noting that there are many fields in which they have opportunities to reinforce cooperation, especially the areas matching Ontario’s strength and HCM City’s demand like information technology, infrastructure building, and automobile assembly.

HCM City pledges to provide the best possible conditions for Ontario investors to learn about and invest in the city, thus bringing successes to Canadian businesses and contributing to local development, he added.

Wynne said Ontario is ready to cooperate and share experience in training teachers and improving general education. It successfully applied public-private partnership in resolving the problem of urban infrastructure construction, and it is ready to share this experience with HCM City.

At the meeting, the officials said the two localities share many similarities such as the role in their respective countries’ economies and challenges facing their development like population aging and climate change impacts. These are also chances for them to augment cooperation in the future.

With 67 projects worth some 110 million USD, Canada now ranks 21st among more than 90 countries and territories investing in HCM City. Toronto, the capital of Ontario, signed a cooperation agreement with HCM City in 2006.-VNA