Participants at the workshop. (Photo: VNA)

The event, hosted by the Vietnamese Embassy in Canada in collaboration with the Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation of British Columbia and the Canada-ASEAN Business Council (CABC), is part of a series of event to celebrate the 50th founding anniversary of the Vietnam - Canada diplomatic ties, and the 30th establishing anniversary of the Vietnam Trade Office in Canada.

The workshop attracted crowds of representative from Canadian businesses in the western region, Vietnamese businesses operating in the North American nation, and those from ministries and sectors of British Columbia.

In his opening speech, British Columbia Minister of Trade Jagrup Brar emphasized the importance for the locality to strengthen relationships with global partners like Vietnam.

Vietnam is the top destination for Canadian goods and services among ASEAN countries thanks to its average economic growth rate of 7% over the past 30 years, he said.

Vietnam is seen as a gateway for Canadian businesses that want to access the 660-million-people ASEAN market, which is one of the regions with the fastest economic growth in the world, he said.

According to Brar, trade relations between Vietnam and British Columbia have begun to regain momentum, with a growth rate of 63% in 2022. The Canadian province is also the top destination for Vietnamese businesses in Canada with 6 projects worth more than 300 million CAD (over 219.48 million USD).

Vietnamese Consul General in British Columbia Nguyen Quang Trung said the CPTPP, a trade bloc with 500 million people and total GDP of about 13.5 billion CAD, has brought new opportunities for Vietnam and Canada to strengthen economic, trade and investment cooperation.

Trade Counselor Tran Thu Quynh at the Vietnamese Embassy briefed participants on Vietnam's policies in attracting investment in industry, and the country’s advantages in infrastructure for energy, telecommunications, e-commerce, seaports and especially Vietnam's strategic position in the trans-Pacific transport corridor.

According to Quynh, British Columbia and Vietnam have great potential for cooperation in the industrial sector, especially in clean energy, electric vehicles and automobile industry, artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors.

Hoang Ngoc Dinh who is in charge of science and technology cooperation at the Vietnamese Embassy noted that Vietnam has great demand in new technology fields such as renewable energy, semiconductor technology, essential metal mining and processing, which Canada can meet. He added that investing in those fields will help Canadian investors not only take advantage of the Vietnamese market but also fully tap the Canadian Government's support policies.