Hanoi (VNA) –ꦡ Minister of Industry and Trade TranTuan Anh has suggested agencies in Vietnam and Canada to devise a mechanism toexchange information and handle trade defence cases.

Anh made the request during a video conference with CanadianMinister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade Mary Ng onMay 25. The meeting aimed to bolster bilateral cooperation and maximisethe benefits of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-PacificPartnership (CPTPP), paving the way for businesses of both nations to access tradeand investment information as the economies gradually recover from the COVID-19pandemic. At the event, Anh spoke highly of the two countries’ effortsto effectively implement the CPTPP, with detailed action plans to createfavourable conditions for firms to make inroads into and explore each other’smarkets. Relevant agencies has promptly and efficiently dealt withproblems incurred during the implementation of the agreement, he noted,facilitating Vietnamese firms’ participation in the CPTPP and Vietnam-Canadatrade relations. The Vietnamese minister suggested the two countries enhance connectivityin the supply chain, production and exports, particularly of face masks andpersonal protective equipment in the wake of the pandemic. Vietnam and Canada need to strengthen trade promotions bothoffline and online, he added. Canada has been invited to be an Honorary Country at the VietnamInternational Food Industry Exhibition (Vietnam FoodExpo) this year, which isexpected to bolster cooperation in the fields of agriculture, industry andtrade, he said. Anh took the occasion to thank the Canadian Government for providingtechnical assistance for Vietnam in the framework of the Canadian Trade andInvestment Facility for Development (CTIF) and the Expert Deployment Mechanismfor Trade and Development (EDM) projects. He asked the Canadian side to consider the establishment ofan inter-governmental committee on economy and trade to share information,review cooperation and discuss measures for economic, trade and investment ties. Vietnam will improve its investment climate and createoptimal conditions for Canadian projects, Anh pledged, voicing his hope thatthe new cooperation mechanism will foster investment in strategic sectors ofmutual concern. For her part, Mary Ng underlined the important role ofVietnam, which is Canada’s largest trade partner in Southeast Asia, in itstrade diversification strategy towards the Asia-Pacific region. Echoing Anh’s views, she said the two ministries need anenhanced cooperation mechanism to help firms access information and increasecapacity to overcome the difficulties caused by the economic recession and theongoing pandemic. As Vietnam is holding the ASEAN Chair in 2020, the Canadianminister hoped that the country will support Canada’s talks on free tradeagreements with other ASEAN members and its run for a non-permanent seat at theUnited Nations Security Council for the 2021-2022 tenure. The two ministers agreed to hold regular video conferencesat all levels to carry out activities, bolster trade and promptly removebottlenecks for businesses, contributing to the bilateral economic partnership. Two-way trade has been on the rise in recent years, theministers noted, especially since the CPTPP took effect. The figure hit 4.77billion USD in 2019, a year-on-year surge of 23 percent. Vietnam exported goodsworth around 3.91 billion USD to Canada last year. In the first four months of 2020, bilateral trade reached1.42 billion USD despite the complex developments of COVID-19, seeing amarginal decline of 2.8 percent compared to the same period last year./.