Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam attaches great importance to strengthening its Comprehensive Partnership with Canada, Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung said, noting that Canada’s active engagement with the world and the Asia-Pacific, together with shared strategic interests, offers a solid foundation for expanding cooperation, addressing common challenges and lifting bilateral relations to a higher level.
At a reception for Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu on February 12, Trung highlighted the significance of the Canadian official’s first visit to Vietnam in further deepening bilateral ties.
He asked Sidhu to convey Party General Secretary To Lam’s thanks and New Year greetings to Governor General Mary May Simon, and expressed appreciation for her congratulatory letter following his re-election as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
The Vietnamese minister welcomed positive developments in the Comprehensive Partnership, especially in trade and investment, with two-way trade surpassing 8.5 billion USD in 2025. He also thanked Canada for supporting ASEAN’s and Vietnam’s stance on resolving disputes peacefully in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
For his part, Sidhu said he was pleased to make his first visit to Vietnam and attend the inauguration of the new Canadian Embassy premises. He congratulated Vietnam on the success of the 14th National Party Congress and voiced confidence in the country’s advancement in a new development phase.
He described Vietnam as Canada’s top priority partner in ASEAN and highlighted significant room for expanded cooperation in trade and investment, science and technology, education and training, environmental protection and climate change response.
Sidhu added that regular high-level exchanges and effective implementation of bilateral and multilateral mechanisms, particularly leveraging both countries’ membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), with Vietnam serving as rotating chair in 2026, will generate new momentum for cooperation and contribute to regional and global peace, stability and development.
The two ministers agreed on measures to advance the Comprehensive Partnership, pledging to facilitate cooperation in trade and investment, defence and security, official development assistance, tourism and people-to-people exchanges, while expanding collaboration in emerging areas such as supply chains, AI, semiconductors, quantum technology, clean energy transition, renewable energy, green agriculture, environmental protection and climate change response.
They also consented to coordinate and support each other as Vietnam prepares to host APEC Year 2027 and to further strengthen Canada–ASEAN relations./.
