2023 is an important milestone in Vietnam-Canada relations as the two countries celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations (August 21, 1973 - August 21, 2023). Over the past half century, the trans-Pacific relationship between Vietnam and Canada has grown increasingly prosperous and open. This is a solid foundation for opening new chapters in the relationship between the two countries.
Ceremony to celebrate 50 years of Vietnam-Canada diplomatic relations. Photo: Van Diep - VNAVietnam and Canada established diplomatic relations on August 21, 1973. In November 2017, the two countries established a comprehensive partnership during the official visit to Vietnam by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. At that time, the establishment of a comprehensive partnership was of great significance to the two countries, demonstrating the vision and determination of the leaders of the two countries in bringing the Vietnam-Canada relationship to a new height, creating a foundation to further promote friendship and extensive and effective cooperation in the context of the two countries increasingly sharing many interests on bilateral, regional and international levels.
Since the establishment of the comprehensive partnership, the Vietnam-Canada relationship has been increasingly deepened in many areas. According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Canada Pham Vinh Quang, in the fields of politics and diplomacy, the two sides regularly maintain high-level delegation exchanges. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Vietnam and on this occasion, the two countries established a comprehensive partnership. The Vietnamese Prime Minister also attended the G7 Summit in Canada in 2018.
Along with increasing high-level delegation exchanges, the two countries also maintain regular contact on the sidelines of summits and international and regional multilateral forums. Most recently, on the occasion of attending the G7 Summit in Japan, on May 20, 2023, in Hiroshima city, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau to discuss bilateral cooperation, as well as regional and international issues of mutual concern.
According to Ambassador Pham Vinh Quang, Vietnam and Canada also share many common views on regional and international issues. The two sides maintain an annual political dialogue mechanism at the deputy ministerial level. Along with state diplomacy, cooperation, exchanges through Party and National Assembly channels and people-to-people exchanges are also promoted. In 2021, the Vietnam-Canada Parliamentary Group was established and the Canada-Vietnam Parliamentary Group was born in 2022.
Along with the continuous development of political-diplomatic relations, Vietnam-Canada security-defense cooperation has also been strongly promoted in line with the framework of the comprehensive partnership. In addition, people-to-people exchanges and local cooperation between the two countries have also taken place increasingly vibrantly and effectively. Cultural weeks and people-to-people exchange events are regularly held in Vietnam and Canada.
On the other hand, the two sides cooperate closely in multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations, the Francophonie, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Vietnam always supports Canada's role as a bridge to the Asia-Pacific region and welcomes Canada's contributions to peace, stability and prosperity in the region. Meanwhile, Canadian leaders have repeatedly affirmed that Canada has long-term interests in the Asia-Pacific region, and that Vietnam is an important partner of Canada in the region. Canada wishes to promote long-term friendship and cooperation with Vietnam.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Canada Pham Vinh Quang. Photo: Trung Dung/VNA
Economically, Ambassador Pham Vinh Quang said that Vietnam is Canada's largest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), while Canada is Vietnam's second largest trading partner in the Americas. Two-way trade turnover has always achieved double-digit growth each year and reached 7 billion USD in 2022.
Vietnam’s main exports to Canada include textiles, footwear, seafood, computers, vehicles and spare parts. In return, Vietnam mainly imports wheat, soybeans, fertilizers, animal feed and other raw materials, machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts from Canada.
Along with trade, investment relations have also achieved encouraging results. By the end of 2022, Canada ranked 14th out of 130 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with nearly 250 projects worth nearly 5 billion USD. Meanwhile, Vietnam also invested in Canada, reaching 150 million USD, accounting for 47.5% of Vietnam's total investment capital abroad.
Regarding development cooperation, since 1990, Canada has always been among the leading countries in providing development aid to Vietnam, with a total value of about 2 billion CAD.
Defense and security cooperation has also been developed with the two sides establishing an annual Defense Policy and Strategy Dialogue Mechanism and actively implementing the Defense Cooperation Plan for the 2021-2023 period.
Educational cooperation is also a bright spot. There are currently about 21,000 Vietnamese students studying at all levels in Canada, ranking third among countries with the most international students in Canada. In November 2021, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on promoting educational cooperation and bilateral exchange opportunities between the Ministry of Education and Training and the British Columbia government.
In addition, cooperation between localities of the two countries is always promoted. Currently, there are pairs of localities connecting and cooperating with each other such as Ha Tinh-Langley (British Columbia province), Ho Chi Minh City-Toronto (Ontario province), Da Nang-Vancouver.../.
Khanh Duong
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