Canada is an important market of Viet Nam in North America and both partners could leverage their own advantages to bring more domestic products to each other’s market, according to the Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai.

Hai made the remarks at the first meeting of the Vietnam-Canada Joint Economic Committee (VCJEC) in Vancouver (Canada) on Wednesday.

The Vietnamese deputy minister also asserted that the two countries will continue to strengthen their bilateral cooperation to mark the 5th anniversary of the Comprehensive Partnership (2017-2022) and the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations (1973-2023).

The Canadian Deputy Minister of International Trade David Morrison underscored Viet Nam as a long-standing partner of Canada and stressed that the meeting has started a new chapter in the bilateral economic cooperation.

Notably, Viet Nam remains Canada's leading trade partner in ASEAN since 2015. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) has given a fresh impetus to bilateral trade, boosting commercial figures by over 60 per cent.

The agreement has allowed Canadian products to gain ground in Viet Nam, and the reverse is also true as Vietnamese exports to Canada have increased steadily, reaching CAD$9.8 billion last year. Bilateral trade grew despite the pandemic and hit a record high of CAD$10.5 billion by 2021.

However, David Morrison also stressed that room for trade growth is still ample as bilateral trade has not been unlocked to its full potential.

The Canadian deputy minister said the committee will serve as a mechanism for dialogues to bring the two partners closer in terms of trade and invesment. It is also a demonstration of Canada's willingness to foster economic links with its key partners in the Indo-Pacific.

VCJEC was initially planned to take place every two years, but the need of more trade promoting activities has lead to the second meeting expected to be held in Viet Nam by 2023. —VNS