 |
Vice Chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee Vo Van Hoan and 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) |
The event had the participation of more than 100 delegates representing the government and businesses of the Canadian province of British Columbia, Vancouver and a number of other cities in the province.
This is one of the activities within the framework of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Canada and aims to strengthen relations between HCMC and Vancouver, as well as with British Columbia.
Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of HCMC People's Committee Vo Van Hoan said that the economic, trade and investment relations between HCMC and Canada have many strong developments but don’t commensurate with the potential, especially in the context of Vietnam and Canada are both members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
HCMC 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, he said.
Canada currently ranks 22nd out of 117 countries and territories investing in HCMC with 113 projects worth about US$130 million.
According to the Vice Chairman, two-way trade turnover hit some $630 million in 2022, an annual increase of more than 30 percent.
Mr. Hoan expressed his hope to boost the city’s collaboration with Canadian provinces, including British Columbia, particularly in commerce and investment.
For his part, Brar said the two localities had seen strong progress in their trade ties and informed his host on the upcoming opening of the British Columbia trade-investment office in HCMC.
Business representatives of HCMC and representatives of Canadian organizations and businesses discussed many topics at the forum such as: the demand to connect the market for businesses, specific measures to strengthen the business relationship between localities, business and investment relations between businesses of the two sides, especially in the field of seafood and wooden furniture; supply chain for Canadian restaurants; tourism potential, especially for young people./.