Goods loaded at Đình Vũ Port in northern city of Hải Phòng. Việt Nam and Canada have numerous opportunities to develop trade ties. — Photo dinhvuport.com.vn

OTTAWA — As Việt Nam is a core part of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, both countries boast numerous opportunities for trade development when the Southeast Asian country becomes the largest trading partner of Canada in the region, a Canadian official has said.

Vice President for Indo-Pacific at Export Development Canada (EDC) George Monize told the Vietnam News Agency's resident correspondent in Ottawa that his agency is working to provide domestic firms with necessary information about the Vietnamese market, and offer them with financial and insurance support so that they could make more achievements in Việt Nam.

Meanwhile, President of Groupe Engram Remy Franzoni described Việt Nam as a wonderful trading partner thanks to the country’s status as a global production hub, golden population and middle-income boom.

He highlighted that Việt Nam is one of the attractive destinations for Canadian enterprises, elaborating the country has competitive labour and business costs along with advantages brought by free trade agreements it has clinched.

Canadian Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development Mary Ng recently held a dialogue with Canadian businesses and associations and trade representatives from Việt Nam, Malaysia and Indonesia in preparation for a Canadian trade delegation’s visit to Việt Nam and Malaysia at the end of March.

At the event, she briefed the Canadian enterprises on the Indo-Pacific Strategy, in which Canada focuses on promoting trade and investment ties with its partners in the region.

Commerce has played an important part in Canada’s economic development strategy, she said, adding as the country plans to increase its presence and trade ties with Indo-Pacific – a region with the most dynamic economic growth in the world, it is accelerating negotiations for a free trade pact with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and expects the two sides could ink the deal in 2025.

Vietnamese Trade Counsellor in Canada Trần Thu Quỳnh said that besides accelerating the signing of an ASEAN – Canada trade agreement, Việt Nam and Canada should prepare a deeper cooperation mechanism in the fields of digital economy and green economy in the context that ASEAN is establishing a regional digital economic framework.

As the Chair of the Commission of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2024 and Chair of the G7 Group in 2025, Canada could make further contributions to promoting trade liberalisation and improving the efficiency of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), according to Quỳnh.

Besides, Canada could become a gateway for enterprises from Việt Nam and other ASEAN member states to penetrate the North American market, she added.

Over the past time, Canada’s trade exchange with Việt Nam and Malaysia has been backed by the CPTPP of which the three nations are members.

Việt Nam is currently the largest trading partner of Canada in ASEAN and is one of the economies with the highest economic growth that can bring trade and investment opportunities to Canadian firms. Last year, two-way trade topped US$10 billion.

Meanwhile, Malaysia is also an important partner of Canada in the bloc, with two-way trade reaching nearly $6 billion in 2023. — VNS