Top leader concludes state visit to Canada

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and President To Lam left Ottawa on the evening of September 25 (local time), concluding his state visit to Canada at the invitation of Governor General Louise Arbour.

During the visit, the top Vietnamese leader met with Governor General Arbour and the Speakers of the Senate and House of Commons, and held talks with Prime Minister Mark Carney. He also delivered a policy speech at the Parliament Hill of Canada, held meetings with Communist Party of Canada (CPC) Leader Drew Garvie, the Canada-Vietnam Friendship Association, leading Canadian corporations and investment funds, and Vietnamese experts and scientists in Canada, and attended the Vietnam-Canada business roundtable.

He also met with officials and staff of the Vietnamese Embassy and representatives of the Vietnamese community in Canada.

At the meetings, the two sides reviewed major achievements in Vietnam-Canada relations after more than 50 years of diplomatic ties and nearly 10 years of their Comprehensive Partnership.

Political trust and mutual understanding have continued to grow, while economic, trade and investment cooperation has become an important foundation of bilateral relations. Cooperation in defence and security, education and training, science and technology, culture and people-to-people exchanges has also expanded.

Building on these achievements, the two sides agreed that their relations had met the conditions for a new stage of development and decided to upgrade them to a Strategic Partnership, with higher political trust, deeper and more substantive cooperation, and closer shared interests.

The two countries agreed to soon develop a concrete agenda and action plan to effectively implement the new framework.

The two sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues amid a rapidly changing global environment with intertwined challenges. They agreed on the need to strengthen dialogue and cooperation, uphold multilateralism, and respect the UN Charter and international law.

Vietnam and Canada will continue coordinating at the United Nations, ASEAN, APEC, the Francophonie, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and other appropriate multilateral mechanisms. They expressed support for ASEAN centrality and for Canada's stronger engagement and cooperation with ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific region. They will also further contribute to addressing shared challenges and promoting peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

At their talks, General Secretary and President Lam and PM Carney adopted a Joint Statement on the Vietnam-Canada Strategic Partnership.

The new partnership is built on eight pillars: bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation; trade, investment, finance and economic cooperation; transport, supply chain management and infrastructure; digital transformation, AI, advanced technologies and innovation; energy security, the environment and sustainable growth; food security and agriculture-food cooperation; defence, security, maritime affairs, law enforcement and justice; and education, culture and people-to-people exchanges.

These pillars provide a framework for the two countries to address common challenges, seize new opportunities and contribute to a safer, more prosperous and dynamic Indo-Pacific region.

In his policy speech on Vietnam-Canada Strategic Partnership in a changing world, General Secretary and President Lam said the world would continue to change and called on Canadian parliamentarians to continue accompanying Vietnam so that today’s vision could be turned into action and results.

Vietnam is ready to work with Canada to build a substantive Strategic Partnership that brings practical benefits to the peoples of both countries and contributes to the international community, he said.

On this occasion, leaders of the two countries also witnessed the exchange of cooperation documents between Vietnamese and Canadian agencies.

The two sides expressed their belief that these agreements, together with the newly established Strategic Partnership, will help make Vietnam-Canada cooperation deeper, more substantive and effective, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development in the region and the world./.