VCCI President Pham Tan Cong in a group photo with the business delegation from the Business Council of Canada (BCC)

The BCC delegation led by President and CEO Goldy Hyder, comprised representatives from approximately 20 businesses spanning a variety of sectors including financial services, energy, infrastructure, aviation and education. The VCCI side was represented by President Pham Tan Cong, along with many prominent Vietnamese businesses specializing in their respective fields.

In his address at the meeting, VCCI President Pham Tan Cong underscored the progressively evolving cooperative relations between Vietnam and Canada across various sectors, with a particular emphasis on economics. The VCCI highly valued the Canadian business community’s interest in the Vietnamese market and expressed its aspiration to collaborate with BCC to enhance investment and trade relations between the two countries.

In response, BCC President Goldy Hyder expressed Canada's commitment to developing economic relations with Vietnam.

“We believe that Vietnam is a potential market for Canadian businesses and look forward to working with VCCI to tap cooperation opportunities in such areas as clean energy, infrastructure, education and training,” he said.

During the meeting, the representatives engaged in discussions on a range of significant topics. VCCI provided an overview of Vietnam’s business environment and preferential investment policies, and the potential for collaboration in key sectors of the Vietnamese economy was explored.

One of the primary areas of focus was clean energy. The potential for cooperation in renewable energy, nuclear energy, and energy optimization was underscored, and the representatives sought solutions to energy-related challenges in Vietnam.

In terms of infrastructure, the need for investment in transportation, energy, and telecommunications projects in Vietnam was discussed. The representatives exchanged views on potential projects and effective strategies for collaboration in this sector.

The importance of education and training cooperation was also emphasized, particularly the need for high-quality human resource development in Vietnam. This includes vocational and university training programs that are tailored to the demands of the labor market.

Both parties reached a mutual agreement to bolster cooperation in the aforementioned sectors. BCC and VCCI signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoU), which will serve to materialize future collaborative activities.

The meeting between the BCC and the VCCI was a positive indicator of the escalating interest of the Canadian business community in the Vietnamese market. Both parties expressed their belief that, through close-knit cooperation, businesses from Canada and Vietnam can cultivate development and achieve mutual success.