Quebec (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucand former Prime Minister Jeans Chretien and Governor General Julie Payette ofCanada sought to deepen the Vietnam-Canada comprehensive partnership during aworking lunch in Quebec on June 8 (Canada time).

At the function, which was also participated byleaders of some leading Canadian and Vietnamese enterprises in banking,aviation, agriculture, manufacturing and digital technology, PM Phuc affirmedthat Vietnam always pays great attention to developing relations with Canada.

He showed his delight at the growth of bilateral ties,with expanded cooperation in trade and investment.

He stated that the Government of Vietnam has created favourableconditions for Canadian and Vietnamese firms to strengthen their partnership.

Leaders of Canadian businesses lauded the rapideconomic growth of Vietnam as having created abundant opportunities forinvestors. They showed their interest in a number of promising areas inVietnam, including infrastructure, manufacturing, and agricultural productprocessing.

Canadian Governor General Julie Payette showed herrespect to PM Phuc by joining in the working lunch with him right after hostinga reception for the Vietnamese leader.

She said she hopes to make more contributions to thedevelopment of the Canada-Vietnam partnership and link leading enterprises ofCanada and their Vietnamese peers, so to bring benefits to people of bothcountries.

Former PM Chretien held that Canada and Vietnam sharedhigh potential in fostering collaboration, and hoped the two governments  back enterprises to strengthen cooperationand seek investment and business opportunities in each other’s country.

Later the same day, PM Phuc had a meeting with AngelGurria, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation andDevelopment (OECD), during which he lauded the role of the OECD in supportingand giving consultations to Vietnam in socio-economic development andfulfilling its tasks as the Chair of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC) Year in 2017.

He reiterated the Government’s strong determination toundertaking reforms, asking for assistance from the OECD in policy consultationand experience sharing in key areas, thus helping Vietnam effectively build andimplement socio-economic development strategies.

For his part, Gurria congratulated Vietnam onsuccessfully completing its role as the host of the APEC 2017 and thanked thecountry for closely coordinating with the OECD over the past years.

He also welcomed drastic measures that PM Phuc hasapplied to build a facilitating Government, improve competition law, and developurban  sustainably.

The OECD Secretary-General said that the organizationhas kept a close watch on the Vietnamese Government’s reform efforts, pledgingthat the OECD will accompany the Vietnamese Government and support the countryin the renovation and development process.

He also committed to working closely with Vietnam in buildingthe competition law and tax policies, urban development, business management,and small-and-medium sized enterprises development, thus helping the country enhanceeconomic productivity and competitiveness.

Gurriavoiced support and welcome to Vietnam’s hosting of the World Economic Forum onASEAN in September this year, vowing that the OECD will actively engage in theevent.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is in Quebec for the Group of Seven (G7)Outreach Summit and visit to Canada from June 8 – 10 at the invitation ofCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.-VNA