A ceremony was held in Hà Nội by the Canadian Embassy to mark the 50th anniversary of Việt Nam-Canada diplomatic relations. — VNA/VNS Photo Văn Điệp

HÀ NỘI — The Canadian Embassy in Hà Nội held a ceremony on Thursday evening to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Việt Nam-Canada diplomatic relations (1973-2023), featuring cultural performances and an exhibition showcasing Canadian products in Việt Nam.

At the ceremony, representing the Government of Việt Nam, Minister of Health Đào Hồng Lan affirmed that Việt Nam highly values its relationship with Canada and wants the ties to be further strengthened in a friendly, cooperative, stable, long-lasting, and mutually beneficial manner, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

She said Việt Nam welcomes Canada's increasing attention and positive contributions to the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions as well as recognition of ASEAN's centrality and Việt Nam's role as a "bridge" and "gateway" in the region.

Since the Việt Nam-Canada comprehensive partnership was established in November 2017, the bilateral relationship has gained new momentum for robust development, particularly in economic and trade, healthcare, education and training, defence cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges. Their bilateral trade volume reached US$7 billion in 2022. Currently, Canada is Việt Nam's third-largest trading partner in the Americas region, while Việt Nam is Canada's largest trading partner in ASEAN. There are over 30,000 overseas Vietnamese residing in Canada and more than 20,000 Vietnamese students studying in Canada.

Lan expressed her gratitude for Canada’s support for Việt Nam so far and proposed that the Canadian Government and people continue to create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese expatriate community to integrate into the host society and actively contribute to the development of both nations and their friendly and traditional relationship.

Canadian Ambassador Shawn Steil emphasised that Canada had demonstrated its commitment to peace and prosperity in Việt Nam from an early stage by playing a leading role in supporting the 1954 Geneva Agreement.

The diplomat stated that Canada recognises Việt Nam's significant diplomatic efforts to gain independence and global recognition. Many things have changed over the past five decades, but one thing that never changes is that Canada is proud to assist Việt Nam on its path to becoming a more developed, peaceful, and prosperous nation.

He reaffirmed Canada's commitment to continue supporting Việt Nam in its efforts to switch to clean energy, address climate change, and pursue sustainable economic growth. He said he believes that the reliable bilateral partnership not only brings greater prosperity to their people but also contributes to global peace and security.

Looking towards the future, Canada considers Việt Nam a key partner in a more secure, prosperous, comprehensive, and sustainable Indo-Pacific region, stressed the ambassador. — VNS