Consulate General of Canada in Ho Chi Minh City

Canada and Vietnam maintain excellent bilateral relations. In 2013, Canada and Vietnam will celebrate the 40^th anniversary of their bilateral relations.

Canada’s relations with Vietnam are expanding, particularly through rapidly-increasing trade and investment and a prominent CIDA presence. In 2009, Vietnam was confirmed as one of CIDA’s 20 countries of focus. High-level political engagement has also increased in the past years. Prime Minister Harper visited Hanoi during APEC in 2006, while the first-ever visit to Canada by a Vietnamese Prime Minister was in June 2005. Former Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Khiem made an official visit to Canada in September 2009. Prime Minister Dung visited in June 2010 to attend the G20 meeting in Toronto as Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Cannon travelled to Hanoi in July 2010 to attend the ASEAN Post Ministerial Conference and the ASEAN Regional. Governor General David Johnston visited Vietnam as part his State visit to Southeast Asia in November 2011.

Canada and Vietnam share membership in multiple multilateral forums, including ASEAN, in which Canada is a Dialogue Partner; Vietnam was Canada’s Coordinating Country for 2006-09. Canada and Vietnam are also members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the ASEAN Regional Forum, the Francophonie and the United Nations.

There is an active 180,000-strong Vietnamese-Canadian community in Canada. Several trade, cultural and charity delegations to Vietnam have been organized with Vietnamese-Canadian involvement.