On the morning of May 11, 2026, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Minister of Industry and Trade Le Manh Hung received Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam Jim Nickel on a courtesy visit.

At the meeting, Ambassador Jim Nickel congratulated Minister Le Manh Hung on his appointment as Minister of Industry and Trade, while expressing confidence that under the Minister’s leadership, economic, trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Canada would continue to be promoted in a stronger, more substantive and effective manner in the coming period.

The two sides highly valued the positive developments in Vietnam-Canada cooperation in recent years, particularly in the fields of economy, trade and investment. Canada is currently one of Vietnam’s important trading partners in the Americas, while Vietnam remains Canada’s largest trading partner in ASEAN. Bilateral trade turnover has doubled over the past four years. In 2025 alone, bilateral trade reached USD 8.6 billion, up 18.8% year-on-year, of which Vietnam’s exports to Canada amounted to USD 7.5 billion, up 18.2%, while imports from Canada totalled USD 1.1 billion, an increase of 23.7%.

Ambassador Jim Nickel also highly appreciated Vietnam’s increasingly important role in the global supply chain, affirming that Vietnam is a reliable supplier of goods for Canada, while Canada has strengths in energy, critical minerals and agricultural products. Amid ongoing fluctuations in global trade, the two countries continue to share the view of supporting an open, transparent and rules-based trading system.

The Ambassador also commended Vietnam’s role as Chair of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2026, host of APEC 2027, and its preparations to assume the rotating ASEAN Chairmanship in the coming period. He thanked Vietnam for its active coordination and support for Canada within regional cooperation mechanisms, while expressing the hope that Vietnam would support Canada’s bid to host APEC 2029.

The two sides agreed to continue close coordination in preparations for the third meeting of the Vietnam-Canada Joint Economic Committee and the Vietnam-Canada Business Forum, which is expected to take place in Canada in early June 2026.

Minister Le Manh Hung noted that bilateral economic, trade and investment relations have maintained positive growth momentum despite numerous difficulties in the international context, while affirming that cooperation potential between the two countries remains substantial.

The Minister stressed that both countries’ participation in the CPTPP has brought practical benefits to both sides, contributing to the promotion of trade, investment, business connectivity and supply chain linkages. He thanked Canada for its active support for activities and initiatives within the framework of Vietnam’s CPTPP Chairmanship Year 2026, and for backing Canada’s hosting of APEC 2029, thereby contributing to the overall success and delivering practical benefits to all member economies.

On that basis, the Minister proposed that Canada continue to coordinate closely with Vietnam and the MoIT within bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms in order to create new momentum for promoting trade and investment in the coming time.

At the meeting, the two sides also discussed the progress of negotiations on the ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement (ACAFTA). The Minister emphasised that Vietnam highly values efforts by all parties towards the goal of basically concluding negotiations in 2026, while proposing that Canada continue to play an active and flexible role in resolving outstanding issues at an early date, towards a substantive, balanced and mutually beneficial agreement.

The Minister also expressed confidence that once completed and signed, the ACAFTA would create fresh momentum for economic, trade and investment cooperation between ASEAN and Canada in general, as well as between Vietnam and Canada in particular.

He also proposed that the two countries continue to strengthen support for businesses in effectively utilising commitments under the CPTPP, promoting trade and investment facilitation, and creating more favourable conditions for Vietnamese goods to participate more deeply in supply chains and distribution networks in Canada.

The meeting concluded successfully later the same day.