{"id":908785,"date":"2026-09-25T06:10:38","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T06:10:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/908785\/"},"modified":"2026-09-25T06:10:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T06:10:38","slug":"vietnam-presidents-visit-to-canada-aimed-at-trade-diplomacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/908785\/","title":{"rendered":"Vietnam president’s visit to Canada aimed at trade, diplomacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

OTTAWA \u2014 Vietnamese President To Lam has upgraded ties with Canada to a strategic partnership, building on Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s efforts to get middle powers working more closely together to confront American and Chinese coercion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a volatile world, trust, responsibility and shared interests in and of themselves are strategic values,\u201d Lam said Thursday through an interpreter in an address on Parliament Hill.<\/p>\n

His one-day state visit involved numerous events, including a tree-planting at Rideau Hall and an address to parliamentarians and members of the diaspora.<\/p>\n

Lam is the first Vietnamese president ever to visit Canada and he leads the country\u2019s communist party, making him its most powerful person.<\/p>\n

\"\"Canada Vietnam news Prime Minister Mark Carney, right, walks to a welcome ceremony with Vietnamese General Secretary and President To Lam on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Adrian Wyld <\/p>\n

In a meeting in Carney\u2019s West Block office, the prime minister commended Lam for his leadership of a middle power and said the relationship has evolved quickly since a 2017 pact that covered investment, defence and academia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be good news for those who want to travel directly from Canada to Vietnam and back,\u201d Carney said, possibly suggesting direct commercial flights.<\/p>\n

The new strategic partnership signifies deeper co-operation on longer-term goals, said Vina Nadjibulla, co-founder of the Centre for Strategic Statecraft, a geopolitics think tank.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in a moment where the relationship can go to a new level, and there\u2019s definitely political desire on both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nadjibulla said that while Vietnam is a communist country, it\u2019s also trade-dependent \u2014 like Canada \u2014 and seeks to preserve the rules-based international order and pursue economic diversification.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though its leadership is very different from Canada, its orientation right now is very much similar to what Canada is trying to do, which is build resilience, diversify partnerships and practise as much autonomy and agency (so as) not to be coerced by any one power,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said the renewed partnership will involve energy, agriculture, defence co-operation and people-to-people ties. She said Canadian universities and investors can help Vietnam as it shifts from economic development toward an innovation economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the global economy changes, our response is not to turn inward. It is to build partnerships,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand participates in a scrum with journalists on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Justin Tang Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand participates in a scrum with journalists on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Justin Tang <\/p>\n

Lam said those partnerships should span Canadian technology, particularly in agriculture, clean energy and education.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to maintain regular exchanges and contacts, especially at the high level at an early stage \u2014 and in a frank manner \u2014 on the shifts that may affect the interests of each side,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Lam called for \u201ctangible action programs with clearcut priorities\u201d that will help eliminate \u201cbottlenecks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Global Affairs Canada\u2019s online profile of Vietnam calls it Canada\u2019s largest trading partner in Southeast Asia, with two-way merchandise trade amounting to more than $20 billion last year. Canada exports food, metals and fertilizers, while Vietnam exports electronics, clothing, furniture and shoes.<\/p>\n

\u201cVietnam is an economic partner that plays an important role in advancing Canada\u2019s trade diversification efforts in the region,\u201d the department says.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Lester B. Pearson Building, the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada, is pictured in Ottawa, on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/ Patrick Doyle The Lester B. Pearson Building, the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada, is pictured in Ottawa, on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/ Patrick Doyle <\/p>\n

Vietnam is also a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a bloc with which Canada is negotiating a free-trade agreement. Carney is hoping to sign that trade agreement on a planned November visit to the Philippines \u2014 which might include a stop in Vietnam.<\/p>\n

Nadjibulla said Vietnam has a huge trade surplus with multiple countries, including Canada, in part because U.S. President Donald Trump used his first term to promote trade with Asian nations other than China. That led to a boom in Vietnamese electronics manufacturing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe import a lot from Vietnam and we sell very little, relatively speaking,\u201d she said, arguing Canadian businesses have not seized opportunities in this country of 100 million people.<\/p>\n

Vietnam is now facing hefty American tariffs and is working on a bilateral agreement with Washington while trying to diversify its trade beyond the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where Canada and Vietnam are aligned. We\u2019re both trying to diversify our supply chains (and) reduce overreliance on the U.S.,\u201d Nadjibulla said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Vietnamese General Secretary and President To Lam greets members of the community during an official welcome ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Keito Newman Vietnamese General Secretary and President To Lam greets members of the community during an official welcome ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa, on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Keito Newman <\/p>\n

Vietnam is also at the forefront of American efforts to weed out forced labour from supply chains, especially supply chains that could be linked to Uyghur slave labour in China\u2019s Xinjiang region.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s former corporate ombudsperson raised similar concerns about running shoes produced in Vietnam, warning they might include cotton derived from slave labour.<\/p>\n

Beijing calls the Trump administration\u2019s claims about slave labour unfounded and says they\u2019re aimed at undercutting China\u2019s economic growth. Vietnam has said it takes Washington\u2019s concerns seriously.<\/p>\n

This year, Vietnam holds the rotating chairmanship of the Pacific Rim trade bloc known as CPTPP. The bloc brings together multiple countries, including Canada, Chile, Japan and Australia, which commit to rules-based commerce and basic workers\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n

\"\"CPTPP Representatives of members of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal pose for an official picture before the signing agreement ceremony in Santiago, Chile March 8, 2018. <\/p>\n

The CPTPP bloc has taken on increasing importance as countries deal with acts of economic coercion \u2014 such as China limiting supply chains for critical minerals and Trump issuing tariffs on questionable grounds.<\/p>\n

Lam has been supportive of Carney\u2019s fledgling initiative to have the European Union work more with the CPTPP bloc so that middle powers can band together against coercive policies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has made the relationship even more significant this year, because of that international agenda,\u201d Nadjibulla said.<\/p>\n

Nadjibulla said Vietnam has a huge trade surplus with multiple countries, including Canada, in part because U.S. President Donald Trump used his first term to promote trade with Asian nations other than China. That led to a boom in Vietnamese electronics manufacturing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe import a lot from Vietnam and we sell very little, relatively speaking,\u201d she said, arguing Canadian businesses have not seized opportunities in this country of 100 million people.<\/p>\n

Vietnam is now facing hefty American tariffs and is working on a bilateral agreement with Washington while trying to diversify its trade beyond the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where Canada and Vietnam are aligned. We\u2019re both trying to diversify our supply chains (and) reduce overreliance on the U.S.,\u201d Nadjibulla said.<\/p>\n

Vietnam is also at the forefront of American efforts to weed out forced labour from supply chains, especially supply chains that could be linked to Uyghur slave labour in China\u2019s Xinjiang region.<\/p>\n

\"\"camps In this Monday, Dec. 3, 2018, photo, a guard tower and barbed wire fences are seen around a section of the Artux City Vocational Skills Education Training Service Center in Artux in western China’s Xinjiang region. (AP Photo) <\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s former corporate ombudsperson raised similar concerns about running shoes produced in Vietnam, warning they might include cotton derived from slave labour.<\/p>\n

Beijing calls the Trump administration\u2019s claims about slave labour unfounded and says they\u2019re aimed at undercutting China\u2019s economic growth. Vietnam has said it takes Washington\u2019s concerns seriously.<\/p>\n

This year, Vietnam holds the rotating chairmanship of the Pacific Rim trade bloc known as CPTPP. The bloc brings together multiple countries, including Canada, Chile, Japan and Australia, which commit to rules-based commerce and basic workers\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n

The CPTPP bloc has taken on increasing importance as countries deal with acts of economic coercion \u2014 such as China limiting supply chains for critical minerals and Trump issuing tariffs on questionable grounds.<\/p>\n

Lam has been supportive of Carney\u2019s fledgling initiative to have the European Union work more with the CPTPP bloc so that middle powers can band together against coercive policies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has made the relationship even more significant this year, because of that international agenda,\u201d Nadjibulla said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Vietnam’s top leader To Lam swears in as the country’s president in Hanoi, Vietnam Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Duong Van Giang\/VNA via AP) Vietnam’s top leader To Lam swears in as the country’s president in Hanoi, Vietnam Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Duong Van Giang\/VNA via AP) <\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2026.<\/p>\n

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

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