Vietnam is currently Canada’s largest trading partner in ASEAN. Building on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the two countries are expanding bilateral economic ties into higher value-added areas such as clean energy, critical minerals, advanced technology, manufacturing and value-chain linkages.
The third meeting of the Vietnam-Canada Joint Economic Committee and the recent Vietnam-Canada Business Forum highlighted this shift, with areas of mutual interest expanding beyond agriculture, consumer goods and traditional investment to clean energy, critical minerals, advanced technology, aerospace, the defence industry and the knowledge economy.
Talking to Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Canada, Vina Nadjibulla, CEO of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft of Canada, said bilateral trade has grown significantly but still has considerable room for expansion, noting that CPTPP has facilitated businesses’ access to each other’s markets.
According to Tran Thu Quynh, Commercial Counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy in Canada, the Joint Economic Committee mechanism and interest from the two governments are creating new growth drivers. Future priorities are expected to include technology, energy, critical minerals, advanced technology and even defence industry cooperation.
From trade to industrial cooperation
In the short term, Canada has clear advantages in natural resources, agricultural products and energy products. However, Senator Yuen Pau Woo, Chair of the Canada-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group, said the long-term potential lies in deeper cooperation in industry, advanced manufacturing and renewable energy.
He noted that Canada could supply abundant resources, agricultural products and energy products to Asian markets, including Vietnam, while the longer-term potential lies in jointly developing industrial capacity and creating value.
Energy and technology clearly demonstrate this complementarity. Nadjibulla said Canada could cooperate with Vietnam in areas ranging from liquefied natural gas, hydrogen and carbon capture to nuclear and renewable energy. AI, quantum technology, aerospace and defence are also emerging areas of connection.
Businesses urged to deepen value-chain participation
The broader cooperation agenda is creating new requirements for Vietnamese businesses. According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Canada, the goal is not only to increase exports but also to enhance brand value, establish a stronger direct presence in the Canadian market and participate more deeply in international distribution, manufacturing and services networks.
Connecting trade with production and making better use of the free trade agreements shared by the two countries could help link supply chains with production chains.
Quynh said this shift could lay the foundation for closer links between trade and industrial policies, promoting substantive cooperation and further upgrading bilateral ties.
Meanwhile, Yuen Pau Woo stressed the importance of a sound policy environment, noting that international relations, trade agreements and foreign policy can directly affect ties with Vietnam. Policymakers therefore need a better understanding of Vietnam and its importance to Canada.
From goods trade to production linkages and from traditional sectors to energy, technology and the knowledge economy, Vietnam-Canada relations are developing increasingly diverse connections, laying a stronger foundation for more substantive bilateral economic ties.
Source: VOV
