(VOVWORLD) - 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, said British Columbia Minister of Trade Jagrup Brar at a recent workshop discussing opportunities for Canadian industrial and technological businesses in the Vietnamese market.
 British Columbia Minister of Trade Jagrup Brar speaks at the workshop on business opportunities in Vietnam. |
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), 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.
Brar said that 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.
According to Mr. Brar, trade relations between Vietnam and British Columbia have regained 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 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 said 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.