Canada always attaches importance to the role and position of
Vietnam in its diplomatic strategy, said visiting Canadian Foreign
Minister John R. Baird at a meeting with President Truong Tan Sang in
Hanoi on March 12.
Canada is paying much
attention to Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam , due to
their dynamic international integration and the cooperation potential
between nations in the region, added Baird.
He
affirmed the hope of Canadian organisations and businesses to continue
strengthening investment and expanding their operations in Vietnam .
He also expressed his hope to enhance the two countries’ relations both
bilaterally and multilaterally.
At the meeting,
President Sang hailed Baird’s visit, which takes place at a time when
the two countries are celebrating their 40th anniversary of diplomatic
ties. He highly valued the two countries’ ties at the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation, Francophone and Trans-Pacific Partnership forums.
The president affirmed that Vietnam always
treasures cooperation with Canada , saying that he hopes the two
countries will continue promoting this relationship on the basis of the
long-term, stable and comprehensive partnership.
The
Vietnamese State leader suggested the two sides hold regular
high-level exchanges and boost trade at a sustainable pace.
He expressed his hope that the Canadian Government will continue to
create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to integrate
into the country, contributing to the development of Canada and
bilateral ties.
Also on March 12, the Canadian Foreign Minister held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh.
The two sides agreed to make every effort to boost bilateral
multi-faceted cooperation, especially in economics-trade-investment,
science-technology, and education-training, as well as support each
other at multilateral forums.
Minh spoke highly of
the Canadian Government’s decision to keep Vietnam on the list of 20
countries that receive priority official development assistant (ODA).
He asked the Canadian Government to further open its
market to Vietnamese products, recognise Vietnam’s market economy
status, extend the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) for Vietnam, and support Vietnam’s IDA (International Development
Association) loans from the World Bank.
The guest
affirmed his willingness to work with the Vietnamese side to prepare for
President Sang’s tour to Canada later this year, and invited Minh to
visit his country at an appropriate time.-VNA