Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held a phone talks with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau on May 19 to discuss measures promoting bilateral ties and COVID-19 response.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (middle) in the phone talks (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held a phone talks with
his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau on May 19 to discuss measures promoting
bilateral ties and COVID-19 response.
Trudeau affirmed that
Canada attaches importance to bilateral friendship and wishes to lift bilateral
comprehensive partnership to a new height.
Speaking highly of
Vietnam’s role and position on international arena, which was reflected via its
position as ASEAN Chair 2020 and a non-permanent member of the United Nations
Security Council for the 2020-2021 tenure, Trudeau reaffirmed commitment to
fostering strong cooperation in trade, development and national defence.
He vowed to continue
assisting Vietnam and regional countries in access to COVID-19 vaccines via
mechanisms such as ACT Accelerator, COVAX Facility and ASEAN’s COVID-19
response fund.
PM Chinh congratulated
Canada on its successful fight against the pandemic. He thanked the Canadian
Government and people for providing practical support for Vietnam via a gift of
120,000 N95 masks, 3.5 million CAD for ASEAN’s COVID-19 response fund and a
relief package worth 700,000 CAD to help Vietnam's central region overcome disasters.
As the two countries
are looking to celebrate the 50th anniversary of bilateral
diplomatic ties (1973-2023), Chinh suggested focusing on anti-pandemic work, with
Canada facilitating Vietnam’s access to COVID-19 vaccines and offering mutual
support in consular work and citizen protection.
He proposed enhancing
dialogue mechanisms such as deputy ministerial-level political consultation,
bilateral defence consultation, as well as stepping up the establishment of the
Joint Committee on Economy and Trade to raise two-way trade to 8 billion USD in
the next two years from 5 billion USD.
The Vietnamese leader
said the two countries’ enterprises should tap opportunities within the
framework of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific
Partnership, encourage Canada to diversify investment in Vietnam, particularly
in fields of Canada’s strength such as finance, innovation, sustainable
agriculture, environment clean-up, and clean energy.
Apart from fostering coordination
among localities and educational ties, he asked Canada to help over 20,000
Vietnamese students hit by COVID-19 and the Vietnamese community living and
working in the country.
The two sides agreed to increase education ties, technology transfer and investment in
pharmaceuticals and vaccines in Vietnam. The Canadian pledged to assist Vietnam
in climate change response and sustainable development, particularly in the
Mekong Delta and coastal regions.
They also discussed
regional and global issues, including the East Sea issue, and agreed to continue
working closely together at regional and global multilateral forums such as the
United Nations, APEC, ASEAN and Francophone./.