A delegation of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) led by Hoang Binh Quan, head of the CPV Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations, visited Canada from September 5-8.

Hoang Binh Quan (right), head of the CPV Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations, and Governor-General of Canada David Johnston

During his stay in Canada, Quan paid a courtesy visit to Governor-General David Johnston, during which he called on the Governor-General to support stronger economic-trade cooperation between the two countries through the signing of bilateral cooperative agreements. 

He also asked the Governor-General to back enhanced partnership between the CPV and the ruling Freedom Party of Canada. 

For his part, David Johnston highlighted the thriving relationship between Vietnam and Canada, and expressed his hope that the upcoming visit to Vietnam by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will mark a new milestone in the development of the relationship. 

Canada wishes to intensify trade ties with Vietnam and other ASEAN nations, he said, noting that economic and commercial structures of Vietnam and Canada are mutually complementary. 

The Governor-General underlined the fact that Vietnam has the largest number of students in Canada among Southeast Asian nations, describing this as a favourable condition to boost people-to-people diplomacy and increase mutual understanding between the two countries. 

He suggested the two countries work with each other to remove obstacles hindering their educational cooperation, especially between universities and research institutes. 

While visiting Montreal city, the Vietnamese Party delegation had working sessions with Christine St-Pierre, Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie of Quebec; Jean Seguin, the province’s Deputy Minister for Economy, Science and Innovation; and the management of the University of Quebec. 

They also met with representatives of the Vietnamese community in Montreal.

In Ottawa, the officials had a meeting with leaders of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist), during which the two sides compared notes on the development of movements of communists and workers, as well as orientations to boost the movements in the new situation. 

VNA