Canadian province opens Forestry Innovation Investment office in Binh Duong
The Canadian province of British Columbia opened a Forestry Innovation Investment (FII) office in Vietnam’s southern province of Binh Duong on April 20.
Vietnamese Consul General in Vancouver Nguyen Quang Trung (second from the right) attends the launch of a Forestry Innovation Investment (FII) office in the southern province of Binh Duong on April 20. (Photo: VNA)
Ottawa (VNA) – The Canadian province of British Columbia opened a ForestryInnovation Investment (FII) office in Vietnam’s southern province of Binh Duongon April 20.
TheFII office in Binh Duong, a major industrial hub, is the third of its kind setup overseas by British Columbia with a view to ensuring a supply of sustainablesoftwood products with origin certified in Vietnam.
Vietnamis currently the world’s second largest exporter of wooden furniture. Thevolume of softwood British Columbia exported to the country grew 59 percentduring 2017 - 2021.
Addressingthe launch via videoconference, British Columbia’s Minister of State for TradeGeorge Chow said the office opening is also a chance for his province topromote its trade and investment reputation.
Vietnam’sConsul General in Vancouver Nguyen Quang Trung applauded the opening, notingthat together with many other substantive activities between Vietnameseprovinces and British Columbia, it is among the practical moves towards thefifth anniversary of the countries’ comprehensive partnership in 2022 and the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties next year.
Healso pledged that the Consulate General of Vietnam in Vancouver will serve as abridge for economic activities between British Columbia and Vietnameselocalities.
Despitethe pandemic’s impacts, trade between Vietnam and British Columbia stillreached 2.5 billion CAD (about 2 billion USD) in 2021, Trung noted, citingstatistics as showing that the Canadian province exports about 20 million CADworth of wood to Vietnam each year./.
Vietnamese wood and furniture products are expected to grow in 2022 due to the purchasing demand of the international market along with meeting necessary factors in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).
Many enterprises in the wood industry have received enough orders to keep their workers busy throughout the third quarter and even to the end of this year thanks to their quick resumption of production.
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