“An Increasing Number of Canadian Companies Are Finding a Home in Vietnam”

Canada and Vietnam’s diplomatic relations have rapidly expanded in the past couple of years, with an increasing number of high level visits. In November of 2011 I had the pleasure of welcoming the Governor General of Canada to Vietnam on his first state visit. More recently in March 2013, I welcomed our Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird to Vietnam.

 

We are extremely pleased that bilateral trade passed the US$2 billion mark for the first time. Vietnam’s market has gradually opened for Canadian specialty products, which included a variety of quality food products. An increasing number of Canadian companies are finding a home in Vietnam, especially in high-potential sectors such as agriculture and agri-food, education and training, oil & gas, as well as information and communication technologies, to name a few. There are many reasons why Canadian firms are attracted to Vietnam, such as Vietnam’s competitive labour pool, the market which is becoming more open and transparent, abundant natural resources and the strong links between our countries.

Education is a priority for the Canadian government's work in Vietnam. We will continue to promote our world-class education to Vietnamese students. Canada is committed to strengthening ties between Canadian and global educational institutions, and we will work to facilitate meaningful partnerships between Canadian and Vietnamese education institutions.

Vietnam also continues to be a significant country of focus for Canada’s development assistance programme. This year alone, the Embassy has been actively involved in over 27 development projects providing support to Vietnam. Canada's current development programme in Vietnam focuses on sustainable economic growth and food security. Our programme responds to the Government of Vietnam's poverty reduction priorities and focuses on improving the enabling environment for investment and on supporting rural enterprise development and agricultural competitiveness.

At present we are deepening relations on both bilateral and multilateral fronts. On the bilateral front, Canada and Vietnam are currently working to expand foreign investment opportunities for both countries and helping potential Canadian investors navigate the challenges of the Vietnamese market. On the multilateral side, both Canada and Vietnam are part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. This free trade agreement would make the two countries part of one of the world’s most important trading blocks.

Looking ahead, the embassy will continue to promote trade and investment between Canada and Vietnam. We will continue to work with the Canada Vietnam Chamber of Commerce, and partner with ministries like the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Planning and Investment, among others. We will also work to organize and support trade missions in both directions, and raise the profile of both Canada and Vietnam within the business and investment communities in both countries. We will explore future linkages between Canadian investors and Vietnamese governments and businesses as part of Vietnam's planned Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme.

 

We also look forward to working together with our local development partners to provide support to Vietnam. One of our current projects is the Banking Regulation and Supervision Support Project (BRASS), which began this past December with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Embassy and the Government of Vietnam. This is a five year project worth US$14 million aimed at improving the banking regulatory and supervisory framework, tools and methods in accordance with international standards. Another project we are excited to be working on is Vietnam Skills for Employment Project (VSEP), which aims to support Vietnamese efforts to improve the technical and vocational education and training system. We look forward to continuing this important work.

Vietnamese students have shown an increasing interest in receiving higher education in Canada.   The 4^th Canada Education week was held last fall across Vietnam, and attracted close to 70 Canadian schools to meet prospective students in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. Approximately 1,000 Vietnamese students received Canadian study permits last year, a four-fold increase since 2007 and the largest number issued to any ASEAN country.

In an effort to strengthen ties with educational institutions in Vietnam, three notable partnerships were launched over the past year: the first Canadian Executive MBA programme is now jointly delivered by the University of Quebec in Montreal and the Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics; a bachelor’s programme in Business Administration is now jointly delivered by the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi and the Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology; and the opening of the UBC Dentistry National Hospital of Ondoto-Stomatology Oral Health Research Centre, which is a centre for treatment, educational training and collaborative research between the University of British Columbia and the hospital.

 

Canada actively supports bilateral research and development programmes with our partners, as we recognize that new discoveries can contribute to improving the quality of life for everyone.

 

Canada and Vietnam now have an excellent foundation and our 40th anniversary presents a unique opportunity to further develop the potential of our relationship.

 

In an effort to promote Canadian food and agricultural products in Vietnam, we plan to host food festivals spotlighting some of the best food that Canada has to offer. We are also organizing several academic activities, including a special magazine on Canada and Canada-Vietnam relations and a conference on Canadian studies. We expect that there will continue to be high level visits between our countries that will focus more attention on our cooperation.