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Vietnam remains attractive to Canadian businesses
Canadian Deputy Foreign Minister Leonard J. Edwards said that Canadian businesses are confidence of their long-term economic prospects in Vietnam amid the global economic crisis.
According to the Canadian diplomat who is visiting to Vietnam from April 15-19, Vietnam remains a strategic destination for Canadian businesses to improve their competitiveness in global supply chains.
He said that despite the current economic recession, Canadian businesses are still looking for business opportunities in Vietnam, particularly in the fields of services, infrastructure, education, agriculture and wooden products.
At present, the two countries are negotiating a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPA) and the Canadian Deputy FM expressed his belief that the agreement would help to attract more Canadian investors.
By the end of 2008, Canada’s had promised over US$4 billion in investment, making it the 6th largest investors in Vietnam.
Two-way trade turnover in 2008 hit almost US$1.3 billion compared with US$1 billion in 2007.
In January this year, Vietnam’s exports to Canada had increased by 38 percent over the same period last year.
The Canadian government recently announced that it would designate development assistance to 20 countries, including Vietnam. That Vietnam is one of the recipients for development aid shows the Canadian government’s wishes for future cooperation with the Southeast Asian country, said Edwards.
So far, Canada has provided over US$530 million in development assistance to Vietnam, chiefly for economic reform and poverty reduction.
During his visit, the Canadian Deputy FM is scheduled to witness the signing over US$320,000 to the anti- money laundering project of the UN Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) in Vietnam.
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