Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (middle) in the phone talks (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held a phone talks withhis Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau on May 19 to discuss measures promotingbilateral ties and COVID-19 response.
Trudeau affirmed thatCanada attaches importance to bilateral friendship and wishes to lift bilateralcomprehensive partnership to a new height.
Speaking highly ofVietnam’s role and position on international arena, which was reflected via itsposition as ASEAN Chair 2020 and a non-permanent member of the United NationsSecurity Council for the 2020-2021 tenure, Trudeau reaffirmed commitment tofostering strong cooperation in trade, development and national defence.
He vowed to continueassisting Vietnam and regional countries in access to COVID-19 vaccines viamechanisms such as ACT Accelerator, COVAX Facility and ASEAN’s COVID-19response fund.
PM Chinh congratulatedCanada on its successful fight against the pandemic. He thanked the CanadianGovernment and people for providing practical support for Vietnam via a gift of120,000 N95 masks, 3.5 million CAD for ASEAN’s COVID-19 response fund and arelief package worth 700,000 CAD to help Vietnam's central region overcome disasters.
As the two countriesare looking to celebrate the 50th anniversary of bilateraldiplomatic ties (1973-2023), Chinh suggested focusing on anti-pandemic work, withCanada facilitating Vietnam’s access to COVID-19 vaccines and offering mutualsupport in consular work and citizen protection.
He proposed enhancingdialogue mechanisms such as deputy ministerial-level political consultation,bilateral defence consultation, as well as stepping up the establishment of theJoint Committee on Economy and Trade to raise two-way trade to 8 billion USD inthe next two years from 5 billion USD.
The Vietnamese leadersaid the two countries’ enterprises should tap opportunities within theframework of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-PacificPartnership, encourage Canada to diversify investment in Vietnam, particularlyin fields of Canada’s strength such as finance, innovation, sustainableagriculture, environment clean-up, and clean energy.
Apart from fostering coordinationamong localities and educational ties, he asked Canada to help over 20,000Vietnamese students hit by COVID-19 and the Vietnamese community living andworking in the country.
The two sides agreed to increase education ties, technology transfer and investment inpharmaceuticals and vaccines in Vietnam. The Canadian pledged to assist Vietnamin climate change response and sustainable development, particularly in theMekong Delta and coastal regions.
They also discussedregional and global issues, including the East Sea issue, and agreed to continueworking closely together at regional and global multilaterꦉal forums such as theUnited Nations, APEC, ASEAN and Francophone./.
