Former Quebec premier Jean Charest has suggested Viet Nam and Canada cooperate in sectors such as infrastructure, health care, and medical education.

Former Quebec premier Jean Charest (Photo: The Canadian Press)

In an interview with the Viet Nam News Agency (VNA), Charest said there is ample room for the two countries to step up trade ties, adding that their exports are reciprocal.

Though Viet Nam is Canada’s largest trade partner in ASEAN, two-way trade accounts for just 0.7 percent of the North American country’s total, he said.

The two countries have yet to bring into full play the advantages brought about by the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), he pointed out.

With Canada’s implementation of the updated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Vietnamese investors in Canada will have opportunities to access both the US and Mexico.

Meanwhile, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), signed by Viet Nam and 14 other countries in mid-November, offers a new view on investment in Viet Nam, Charest said.

Canada attaches importance to growing ties with Viet Nam, a centre of FTAs in the Asia-Pacific, he said, adding that it can act as a bridge for Canadian goods and services to access the 660 million-strong ASEAN market.

Viet Nam should be considered as an investment destination by Canadian companies wishing to penetrate into Asia, he stressed.

Source: VNA