Minister of Finance Ngo Van Tuan and Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne. Photo: Ha Linh

The meetings took place in Ottawa on September 25, as part of Party General Secretary and State President To Lam's state visit to Canada. They opened new opportunities to attract international capital for Vietnam's private sector and sustainable development projects.

At the courtesy meeting, Minister Tuan and Minister Champagne discussed orientations for financial and development cooperation in the period ahead.

The two ministers stressed the importance of translating the contents of the Action Plan into concrete measures to implement the joint declaration on upgrading bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership. Financial cooperation will serve as one of the important pillars, providing a solid foundation for promoting trade and investment and supporting the economic transformation of both countries.

On the occasion, Minister Tuan invited Minister Champagne to visit Vietnam and attend the APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting in 2027, expressing his hope that the two finance ministries would maintain regular exchanges and close coordination to deepen economic and financial cooperation and deliver practical benefits to businesses and individuals in both countries.

Minister Ngo Van Tuan and the leadership of FinDev Canada. Photo: Ha Linh

Continuing his working programme, Minister Tuan held a productive meeting with Nick Anstett, vice-president and chief strategy officer of FinDev Canada, the development finance institution of the government of Canada.

The two sides discussed ways to support Vietnam in achieving its development goals through private-sector investment, particularly in climate finance, sustainable infrastructure, energy transition, and climate-resilient agriculture.

Opening the meeting, he outlined Vietnam’s new development context, with the country seeking to maintain high economic growth while pursuing the green transition, developing clean energy, and strengthening the competitiveness of the private sector.

To achieve these goals, Vietnam has significant demand for long-term investment capital at reasonable costs, particularly in key areas including:

• Strategic transport infrastructure, including seaport development and modern logistics infrastructure;
• Energy and climate, including the clean energy transition and development of climate finance; and
• Sustainable agriculture, with a focus on building a smart agricultural sector capable of flexibly adapting to climate change.

Minister Tuan encouraged FinDev Canada to expand its investment in Vietnam while strengthening substantive links with commercial banks, investment funds, and domestic businesses to identify and develop a pipeline of projects that meet international standards.

In response, Anstett spoke highly of the potential and prospects of the Vietnamese market, particularly recognising Vietnam’s pioneering role in climate finance in Southeast Asia.

Anstett said that in 2025, FinDev Canada successfully made two investments, each worth $75 million, through VPBank and HDBank. The financing packages have contributed to supporting green credit, sustainable agriculture, and Vietnam’s private business sector.

Affirming that Vietnam would remain one of the institution’s priority markets under its five-year strategy, Anstett expressed an interest in expanding investment into high-tech industries and essential infrastructure, including:

• Modernising the national power grid and energy storage systems;
• Developing sustainable infrastructure; and
• Encouraging greater participation by Canadian businesses, investment funds, and major pension funds in key projects in Vietnam.

At the end of the meeting, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and FinDev Canada agreed on a specific coordination mechanism to accelerate the implementation of projects in the coming period.

Under the mechanism, FinDev Canada will provide detailed information on its lending standards and eligibility requirements, technical assistance packages, and criteria for equity and share investments by the institution.

Based on these criteria, the MoF will serve as a bridge between the two sides, coordinating the selection and introduction of a pipeline of potential projects that align with Vietnam’s socioeconomic development objectives and fully meet the international standards set by FinDev Canada.

The meeting concluded in a friendly atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding, laying a solid foundation for further strategic financial cooperation agreements between Vietnam and Canada in the near future.