Ottawa (VNA) – The Canadian government andbusinesses should place the Vietnamese market in a prioritised position in itspartnership development, stated Douglas Kennedy, the Royal Bank of Canada’s ManagingDirector at the Center for Global Enterprises.

Kennedy was addressing a forum on December 4 to connecttrade representatives from member countries of the Comprehensive andProgressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) with Canadian firmsand agencies.

He said the Vietnamese economy is experiencing strong andsustainable development, which may bring the Southeast Asian country into thetop 20 economies in the world by 2050 from the current 32nd position.

Vietnam and Canada can supplement each other, he said,noting that Canada, a member of the G7, has signed trade agreements with all theother G7 countries and could help Vietnam penetrate into their markets.

Meanwhile, Vietnam could serve as a gateway for Canada toenter the Southeast Asian market, he added.

Kennedy stressed that Canada should pay more attention tothe Southeast Asian region, especially Vietnam.

Nguyen Dai Trang, President of the Canada-Vietnam TradeCouncil, said that since the CPTPP took effect, more Canadian firms have becomeinterested in Vietnam. The council has held multiple events to help businesses fromboth sides establish partnerships, she added.

Experts held that the CPTPP will provide Canadian companieswithmore opportunities to expand their operations in some of the world’s mostdynamic economies, and help them access a 500-million-strong market spanning 11countries in four continents. Vietnam is regarded as a bright spot on the CPTPPmap and has drawn interest from many Canadian firms.

In 2019, Vietnam is projected to retain the position asCanada’s top trade partner in ASEAN and the fifth in Asia.

In the first seven months of this year, Vietnam’s export to Canadarose nearly 33 percent year on year to 2.2 billion USD.

The CPTPP is a deal between Canada and 10 countries in theAsia-Pacific region, namely Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico,New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Currently, the deal is effective inCanada, Australia, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam. CPTPPmembers account for about 13 percent of global GDP./.