(VOVWORLD) - Vietnam is likely to remain a priority in the policy of Canada’s Liberal Party (LP) led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, given three key elements, Sophia Leong, Advisory Board Member of the Canada-ASEAN Initiatives, told Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Ottawa.
 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
Firstly, she said, Vietnam’s economy is resilient, and we saw it firsthand with Vietnam’s economy expanding to close to 3 percent in 2020, which is one of the highest in the world during COVID-19, an economically challenging period.
Secondly, Vietnam’s rapid expansion of its middle class further provides a much-needed economic stability and trade stability as both of our economies must adjust to growth impacts of the fourth industrial revolution, she continued.
Finally, the pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation, and both of the economies are aggressively adjusting to the new normal, she pointed out. Vietnam is poised to embrace a digital economy faster than other nations in Southeast Asia, Leong said.
As the Liberals were re-elected, there will be a steady increase of attention to the Indo-Pacific and a continued emphasis to develop a strategy for the Indo-Pacific region, said J. Berkshire Miller, Director and Senior Fellow on Indo-Pacific at Ottawa-based Macdonald Laurier Institute. “This is a shared priority from both main parties in Canada,” he noted.
Echoing Miller’s view, Assoc. Prof. Ian Lee of Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, said both major Canadian political parties want to diversify Canada’s trading relationships. Additionally, as Canada and Vietnam are signatories to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), this will increasingly become the vehicle or medium or path for enhanced trade between the two countries. According to Lee, Vietnam has been Canada’s largest trading partner in ASEAN since 2015.