Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Vo Van Hoan receieves Jagrup Brar, Minister of State for Trade at the Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation in the Canadian province of British Columbia. (Photo: VNA)

HCM City – Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Vo Van Hoan on May 25 hosted a reception for Jagrup Brar, Minister of State for Trade at the Ministry of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation in the Canadian province of British Columbia, where they discussed orientations to promote trade and investment cooperation.

Canada currently ranks 22nd out of 117 countries and territories investing in the southern largest economic hub with 113 projects worth about 130 million USD. Two-way trade turnover hit some 630 million USD in 2022, an annual increase of more than 30%, according to the Vice Chairman.

Hoan said the outcomes, however, have yet to be on par with their potential for cooperation and expressed his hope to boost the city’s collaboration with Canadian provinces, including British Columbia, particularly in commerce and investment.

HCM City is willing to work closely with British Columbia in green growth areas where the city has demand and the Canadian province has advantages such as human resources training and waste treatment.

For his part, Brar said the two localities have seen strong progress in their trade ties and informed his host on the upcoming opening of the British Columbia trade-investment office in HCM City.

Canada and Vietnam share ample room for economic cooperation, especially in climate change, agriculture, and forestry, and the good relationship between the two countries' people serves as a good foundation for closer joint work between the two localities in the future, he noted.