This new step was marked by the signing of an agreement to implement the Trade for Resilient, Inclusive and Sustainable Economic Growth (TRISEG) project for 2026-2030 during the third meeting of the Vietnam-Canada Joint Economic Committee (JEC 3) in Ottawa.

The project will focus on helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), women-owned businesses and enterprises in rural areas improve their competitiveness and meet the increasingly stringent standards of the Canadian and North American markets.

Speaking to the press in Canada, Vu Ba Phu, Director General of the Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said the success of cooperation during the 2021-2024 period had laid the groundwork for elevating bilateral ties in the new period. Vietrade has now become TFO Canada's strategic partner in Vietnam.

According to Vu Ba Phu, the new project reflects a shift in the approach adopted by both sides in response to changes in the international trading environment. Rather than supporting only a number of individual businesses, the objective is to build the capacity of a group of enterprises capable of becoming a leading force in expanding export markets.

Canada's assessment also indicates a shared recognition of Vietnam's growing importance in Canada's economic cooperation strategy.

Steven Tipman, Executive Director of TFO Canada, said the decision to continue expanding cooperation with Vietnam stemmed not only from the success of previous projects but also from Vietnam's increasingly important role in regional supply chains and trade networks.

The project builds on TFO Canada's ongoing efforts to help Vietnamese SMEs gain access to the Canadian market. According to Steven Tipman, Vietnam has a particular advantage in that around 98% of its businesses are SMEs, while Canada is pursuing a strategy of diversifying trade and import sources.

Notably, both sides view the new project within the broader context of bilateral economic relations. Vu Ba Phu stressed that  strengthening Vietnam's presence in Canada and North America is important to the country's efforts to diversify its export markets, as Vietnam remains heavily dependent on several key markets.

The project aims to help Vietnamese businesses adapt to the Canadian and North American markets and thereby expand sustainable export channels.

For his part, Steven Tipman said cooperation with Vietnam is fully aligned with Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy and its goal of building trade relations with reliable partners. According to him, Vietnam holds an important place in Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy. Cooperation between TFO Canada and Vietrade seeks to further enhance  trade links between the two countries by helping Vietnamese businesses access the Canadian market.

The shared assessment by Vietrade and TFO Canada shows that relations between the two organisations are evolving from a traditional development assistance model to a partnership-for-development model.

While the previous focus was on strengthening the capacity of Vietnamese businesses, the objective has now expanded to creating long-term trade connections that contribute to advancing Vietnam-Canada economic relations at a time when both countries are seeking new growth drivers in the Indo-Pacific region.

The signing of the TRISEG project agreement therefore opens up new opportunities for the business communities of both countries and reflects the maturity of cooperation between Vietnam and Canada, from a support-based partnership to a strategic trade partnership in a new stage of development.
           

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