An overview of the JEC 3's third meeting. — VNA/VNS Photo

OTTAWA — Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thị Thắng and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs at Global Affairs Canada Arun Thangaraj co-chaired the third meeting of the Vietnam-Canada Joint Economic Committee (JEC 3) in Ottawa on June 5.

Amid persistent global economic volatility, rapidly restructuring supply chains, and rising demand for growth, energy security and sustainable development, both sides reaffirmed the JEC’s growing importance in driving cooperation and further deepening the Việt Nam - Canada Comprehensive Partnership established in 2017.

Thắng said Việt Nam - Canada economic ties are growing at a healthy clip, with two-way trade nearing US$8.6 billion last year and maintaining strong momentum since the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) took effect.

Notably, Việt Nam’s exports to Canada surged 18.2 per cent to $7.5 billion last year, and climbed a further 25 per cent in the first four months of this year. Meanwhile, Canada’s exports to Việt Nam rose by 24 per cent last year and then jumped 62 per cent year-on-year during January-April. These figures reflected the increasing economic complementarity and the payoff from efforts to boost trade and investment.

Thangaraj, for his part, acknowledged the positive trajectory and affirmed Việt Nam as Canada’s largest and fastest-growing trade partner in Southeast Asia.

He underlined Canada’s desire to further expand cooperation in trade, investment, supply chains, critical minerals, clean energy, innovation, and infrastructure. Canada pledges to work closely with Việt Nam to deliver on the meeting’s outcomes, the official said.

Both sides reviewed economic cooperation and agreed to focus on three priority areas, including diversifying trade and investment, effectively delivering CPTPP commitments, supporting an open trading system and accelerating ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement talks; deepening collaboration in strategic industries such as critical minerals, high technology, innovation, digital transformation and strategic supply chains; and expanding joint work in energy, infrastructure and green growth, spanning clean energy, liquefied natural gas (LNG), logistics, digital infrastructure, and sustainable development.

A key outcome was shifting the JEC mechanism toward a more action-driven phase. The two working groups adopted an Action Plan for 2026-2028 with clearly defined cooperation areas and mechanisms.

The two officials praised the working groups for sustaining technical dialogue and pushing cooperation forward, and agreed to further sharpen the mechanism to ensure concrete delivery.

They signed a joint statement, adopted the 2026-2028 Action Plan and agreed to hold the fourth meeting in Việt Nam in 2028.

On the event's sidelines, the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) and the Trade Facilitation Office Canada (TFO Canada) signed the Trade for Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Growth (TRISEG) project in Việt Nam for the 2026–2030 period.

Accordingly, Vietrade will serve as TFO Canada’s sole strategic partner in Việt Nam for the project, which aims to build production and export capacity among small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly women-led ones, in key agricultural sectors, thus promoting inclusive, sustainable growth and bolstering resilience to global market swings. — VNA/VNS