Vietnam and Canada Leaders Discuss Upgrading Comprehensive Partnership

On the evening of July 21, Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney held their first phone call. The two leaders agreed to elevate the bilateral relationship to a new level. Prime Minister Hung congratulated Prime Minister Carney on the achievements of the Canadian government under his leadership and the high trust from the Canadian people. He affirmed that Vietnam always considers Canada an important partner in its foreign policy and is pleased with the positive and comprehensive development of bilateral relations nearly 10 years after establishing the Comprehensive Partnership framework. Both sides acknowledged that active exchanges at all levels, close coordination, and mutual support at regional and international multilateral forums, along with the effective implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), have made them important trading and investing partners, with bilateral trade doubling in the last five years. Cooperation in defense, security, development assistance, education, and people-to-people exchanges has also seen positive progress. Prime Minister Hung stated that there remains significant room and potential for the two countries' relations to expand and develop more substantively and effectively. He proposed several specific priorities for the future, including enhancing exchanges at all levels and channels, prioritizing high-level visits, Canada continuing to open its market for Vietnamese goods, especially agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products, encouraging Canadian businesses to increase investment in key projects in energy, green economy, and circular economy in Vietnam, establishing bilateral law enforcement cooperation mechanisms, strengthening high-quality human resource training in fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum, and semiconductors, and continuing close and effective coordination at multilateral forums. Prime Minister Carney congratulated Prime Minister Hung on his election to his new responsibilities and commended Vietnam's achievements. He emphasized that Vietnam is a key partner for Canada in the ASEAN region and the Indo-Pacific, sharing many common interests and a dynamic partnership based on political trust, open trade and investment, deep people-to-people exchanges, and a commitment to jointly promote cooperation and maintain stability and prosperity amidst rapid and uncertain international changes. Prime Minister Carney shared Prime Minister Hung's views on the good development and great potential of the Canada-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership and agreed to soon upgrade the framework of bilateral relations to a new level. He proposed close coordination between the relevant agencies of both sides to prepare for this important step. He also expressed a desire for close cooperation to promote mutual interests in areas such as sustainable and inclusive development, energy, aerospace, agriculture, food safety, science and technology, and high-quality human resource training. He also suggested exploring the possibility of establishing direct flights between the two countries and encouraging increased people-to-people exchanges to build a solid social foundation for the development of relations. Both leaders agreed to strengthen coordination in addressing common regional and international challenges and to continue supporting ASEAN's central role and the positions of ASEAN and Vietnam on the peaceful settlement of sovereignty disputes in the East Sea, based on international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982). Prime Minister Carney thanked Vietnam for its support during the negotiations of the Canada-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement and highlighted Vietnam's important bridging role as the Chair of the CPTPP, expressing a desire for continued close cooperation in connecting CPTPP with other partners. Prime Minister Carney affirmed that Canada will maintain close coordination with Vietnam at regional and international multilateral forums and support Vietnam as the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in 2027. On this occasion, Prime Minister Carney extended a formal invitation to General Secretary and President To Lam to pay an official visit to Canada at an early date. Prime Minister Hung respectfully thanked Prime Minister Carney for the invitation and proposed continuing discussions through diplomatic channels to arrange the visit. He also conveyed an invitation for Prime Minister Carney to visit Vietnam in late 2026. Source: Nhan Dan