The attendance of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the G7 Outreach Summit and his visit to Canada as invited by his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau is expected to expand the cooperation between the two countries, according to Donald Bobiash, Assistant Deputy Minister for Asia-Pacific at Global Affairs Canada.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) hosts a banquet for Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on his official visit to Vietnam in 2017

In a recent interview with reporters from Vietnam News Agency in Canada, Bobiash said relations between the two countries have been developing in various fields from politics and diplomacy to trade, education and people-to-people exchanges.

One of the biggest milestones in the bilateral ties was the official visit to Vietnam by Prime Minister Trudeau in 2017, during which the two nations’ leaders signed an agreement to lift bilateral ties to a comprehensive partnership.

This year, Vietnam and Canada are celebrating the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

The invitation of Prime Minister Trudeau to Prime Minister Phuc to attend the summit demonstrates the desire of Canada to boost better relations with Vietnam, Bobiash said.

The Vietnamese community in Canada now numbers more than 240,000 people and they have made active contributions to the local economy, he said.

There are a lot of cooperation opportunities in education with the increasing number of Vietnamese students in Canada.

The official also expressed his impressions of Vietnam’s economic growth – which is estimated at more than 6 percent annually.

The Southeast Asian country has a strongly growing middle class and big demand for made-in-Canada products. 

Bobiash said he is willing to back win-win trade ties between the two countries.

Two-way trade exceeds 6 billion CAD at present, he said, adding that Vietnam is an important market for Canadian goods such as buckwheat, canola oil, farm produce and aquatic products.

Vice versa, Canada imports a lot of outsourced products from Vietnam such as mobile phones and electronic equipment.

The official affirmed that the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) that Vietnam and Canada are members will open up opportunities for the two countries to exchange trade of their products.

The CPTPP will expand two-way trade flows by reducing tariffs on Canadian exports, particularly agricultural products. It will also create an equal playing ground for Vietnamese exports, he said, adding the opening of markets for each other is a win-win solution that facilitates trade.

According to Bobiash, a number of important topics will be discussed at the G7 Outreach Summit, affecting all nations in the world, not only Canada and other G7 members.

He pointed to two most relevant topics to Vietnam including ocean and climate change and building a safer and peaceful world.

Cooperation between Vietnam and Canada will bring mutual benefits especially when promoted within the framework of the CPTPP and the comprehensive partnership agreement signed between their leaders in November 2017 in Vietnam, he added.-VNA