Hanoi (VNA) - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on January 6 proposed Vietnam and Canada promote new growth drivers, including cooperation in science and technology and innovation, climate change response, energy transition, infrastructure and logistics development, as well as cultural and people-to-people exchanges.
Welcoming Canadian Secretary of State for International Development Randeep Sarai on a working visit to Vietnam, PM Chinh stated that the Vietnam – Canada Comprehensive Partnership has been developing positively across all fields, underpinned by a solid political foundation and shared interests and values. In recent years, leaders of the two countries have maintained frequent meetings and exchanges at multilateral forums, notably the two meetings in 2025 of the two PMs on the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Malaysia and the G20 Summit in South Africa.
Bilateral trade turnover had reached 6.35 billion USD as of September 2025, with Vietnam ranking among Canada’s leading trade partners within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Cooperation in defence and security, education, people-to-people exchanges, and connectivity between localities has also been actively promoted.
The Vietnamese Government highly values Canada’s official development assistance (ODA) projects implemented in Vietnam in recent years, which, PM Chinh affirmed, have delivered tangible and practical results, making an important contribution to the implementation of Vietnam’s Socio-Economic Development Plan for the 2021–2025 period and its National Development Strategy for 2021–2030.
Stressing Vietnam’s wish to further strengthen and deepen its Comprehensive Partnership with Canada, the PM called on both sides to step up the exchange of delegations at all levels, work toward elevating the bilateral ties to a new level as soon as possible, and continue to promote and expand economic, trade and investment cooperation, with a view to making it the main pillar of the bilateral relations.
In addition, PM Chinh urged Canada to support Vietnam in human resources training by increasing scholarships for Vietnamese students, especially in advanced technology fields where Canada has strengths and Vietnam has demand. He also suggested Canada continue to give due consideration to recognising the Vietnamese community in Canada as a minority group and adopt more open visa policies for Vietnamese citizens.
Calling for continued mutual support and closer coordination at multilateral forums, the Government leader said Vietnam stands ready to serve as a bridge for Canada to strengthen its presence in the region and promote collaboration with ASEAN and ASEAN-led mechanisms.
He also expressed his hope that Canada will act as a bridge to facilitate Vietnam’s participation in cooperation initiatives in which Canada plays an active role; and continue supporting ASEAN’s stance on promoting trade liberalisation and resolving disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with international law, both in the region and the world.
Agreeing with PM Chinh's assessment of bilateral relations, Sarai said that Canada is implementing its Indo-Pacific Strategy for the mutual benefit of the two sides, under which it attaches importance to ASEAN’s central role and multilateral mechanisms in the region in which both sides participate.
Congratulating Vietnam on the 80th anniversary of the first General Election to elect the National Assembly and expressing sympathy over the losses caused by natural disasters in the country, the official affirmed that Canada is willing to support and cooperate with Vietnam in climate change response, infrastructure development, energy transition, the exploration and processing of critical minerals, and investment in products manufactured in Vietnam for export to other markets.
Noting that the Vietnamese community in Canada is large and present across the country, he expressed strong agreement and confidence that the two sides will further promote cooperation in the coming period through concrete programmes and projects, as proposed by the PM./.
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