Ottawa (VNA) - A delegation of central Da Nang city led by Secretary of themunicipal Party Committee Truong Quang Nghia visited big cities of Canada fromAugust 30 - September 2 to promote cooperation between localities and the twocountries in general, especially in trade and investment.

The visit was part of activities to celebrate the 45th founding anniversaryof Vietnam-Canada diplomatic relations (1973-2018).

In the framework of the visit, the delegation attended a forum to promote tradeand investment in Da Nang city held by the Canada-Vietnam Trade Council (CVTC),which aimed to foster trade and investment linkages between the two countries.

Addressing theevent, Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Tran Van Mien introduceddelegates to Da Nang’s environment, investment and business opportunities, aswell as its investment incentives.

As a drivingforce of growth in the central key economic region, Da Nang city always leadsthe way in developing infrastructure, thus creating a smooth connection betweenVietnam’s central and Central Highlands regions with other countries in theregion and the world, he said.

Da Nang has a strategic location with modern infrastructure, abundant andhigh-quality human resources, friendly investment environment, transparentmanagement system, and peaceful living environment, he noted, adding that it isalso one of the most attractive tourist destinations in Vietnam.

In its development strategy to 2030 with a vision to 2045, Da Nang aims tobecome a smart city with sustainable development, a centre of high quality tourismand service and high technology of Vietnam, Mien said, stressing that Da Nang’sdevelopment orientations are in line with strengths of Canadian businesses andinvestors.

Canadian investors expressed their special interest in policies to encourageand support foreign investment, tax incentives, and development support inhigh-tech zones, in information technology, startups, infrastructure developmentand in real estate leasing.

Many investors appreciated the open policy of Da Nang as well as the city’s immediateand long-term development orientations.

Lisa Bate fromB H Architects - a company with many years of investment and business experiencein Vietnam, highlighted the potential for expanding cooperation betweenbusinesses and localities of the two countries.

Vietnam’smajor cities, including Da Nang, boast great potential and opportunities tofurther develop, as they possess skilled human resources and have mapped out adevelopment strategies matching with the development trend of the world, shesaid.

With these advantages, Vietnam in general and Da Nang in particular will havepositive prospects for cooperation in a number of fields, such as education,health, infrastructure and hi-tech development, she noted.

For his part, Nghia pledged to continue measures and practical actions toimprove the city's investment and business environment, thus making it easierfor businesses and investors from Canada and other countries to set up andoperate projects in Da Nang.

He expressed his hope that the CVTC and Canadianenterprises will continuously support investment promotion and attraction intoDa Nang in high technology, IT,  tradeand education, towards creating a new wave of Canadian investment in Vietnamand Da Nang in particular, especially in the context that the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) was signed, and strong impacts brought by the 4th IndustrialRevolution on Vietnam’s development and its  increasingly integration in the globaleconomy.

Previously, the Vietnamese delegation had a working session with Toronto city’sEconomic and Cultural Development Department to seek opportunities forbilateral cooperation.-VNA