Canada and Vietnam have elevated their diplomatic relations this week to a “strategic partnership.”

The partnership was announced this week during Vietnamese President Tô Lâm’s state visit to Ottawa. Lâm, who serves as general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and president of Vietnam, was invited by Governor General Louise Arbour and met with Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney.

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This was the first official visit to Canada by a general secretary of the communist party of Vietnam after the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries back in 1973. Vietnam and Canada‘s relationship was upgraded to a “comprehensive partnership” level when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited the country in November 2017.

In Ottawa, Lâm and Carney held a press conference and released a 3,200-word statement about the partnership. The announcement comes as the U.S. and Canada are embroiled in a trade war.

During the press event, Carney told reporters that in the past five years, “our trade has more than doubled between our two countries. We will strike agreements on several areas today, in energy, clean energy, conventional energy, agriculture, defense cooperation and people-to-people ties.”

In a joint statement, the two leaders said the visit “demonstrated the strong commitment of both leaders to usher bilateral relations into a new era of deeper, more substantive and more sustainable cooperation, underpinned by stronger economic cooperation, mutually beneficial growth and sustainable development.”

The partnership is an expansion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which the countries signed in 2016. Trade between the two countries already generates $20.6 billion, but most of it is exports to Canada. This agreement changes it.

In the joint statement, the countries said the new Canada–Vietnam Strategic Partnership is an “all-encompassing framework” aimed at increasing cooperation in bilateral, regional and multilateral settings. In order to strengthen ties, the two countries will work together within the following framework areas: trade, energy security, agricultural production, digital transformation of the economy and national defense and culture.

They also pledged cooperation on transportation and supply chain management and infrastructure.

The two countries said they “agreed to explore opportunities to promote sustainable digital transformation, secured digital ecosystems and improved infrastructure, cybersecurity, and data governance, in accordance with domestic regulations and international law.”

Regarding climate initiatives, the leaders said they recognize that sustainable and climate-resilient infrastructure ‘is critical to driving long-term economic growth, prosperity, and competitiveness in both countries.”

In response to that pledge, the leaders noted the Canada-funded Vietnam Climate Resilient Municipalities project, which will bring together Canadian municipalities and counterparts from selected urban regions in Vietnam “to exchange expertise on climate-resilient infrastructure and waste management, while showcasing Canadian technologies and solutions to address shared climate-related challenges.”

The statement noted that such a framework shall enable both sides to improve their economic development while bolstering their national security in the Indo-Pacific space. “As countries with deep integration in the global trading system, Canada and Vietnam recognize that prosperity depends on rules-based international economic engagements,” the countries said in their statement.

During the state visit, which continues today, the two leaders discussed CPTPP (the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership), with Vietnam currently chairing the agreement in 2026. In addition to CPTPP, both leaders acknowledged the importance of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), La Francophonie and the United Nations. Specifically, Carney expressed support for Vietnam’s upcoming role as chair of APEC in 2027 and as chairman of ASEAN in 2030. In turn, Lâm welcomed Carney’s bid to host La Francophonie in 2028 and APEC in 2029.

In a continued effort to move the relationship to a higher level, Canada and Vietnam also agreed to hold regular high-level contacts, and both sides will set up formal diplomatic channels. Canada and Vietnam will also hold a Canada-Vietnam Agriculture Dialogue, as well as initiate a “security and law enforcement dialogue,” to complement existing defense policy, maritime and economic trade consultative bodies.

The two countries said they also look forward to increasing contacts between parliamentarians and between peoples of the two countries. In realizing these goals, Canada and Vietnam said they are looking to build strong, innovative and secure supply chains in key areas such as artificial intelligence and renewable energy.

Lâm also invited Carney to visit Vietnam.

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