Vietnam - Canada promote financial policy dialogue mechanism

Vietnam - Canada Joint Economic Committee holds first meeting

View of the Conference.

On the side of the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam, attending the Conference were Ms. Hoang Dieu Linh, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation; Mr. Nguyen Minh Tan, Deputy Director of the State Budget Department.

The conference also had the participation of Mr. Albert Juyul Lee, Commercial Counselor of the Canadian Embassy in Vietnam; Mr. James Wu, Director of the Fund Management Department (Canadian Ministry of Finance) and delegates from specialized units under the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam, experts from the Ministry of Finance of Canada.

The Vietnam - Canada Financial Policy Dialogue Workshop is an implementation of the Financial Policy Dialogue Mechanism agreed between the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam and the Ministry of Finance of Canada to enhance cooperation and exchange experience of financial management between the two countries.

At the Conference, issues of mutual interest to the two Ministries were discussed thoroughly, especially in the context of world trade and investment with many challenges, requiring proactive and timely policy responses.

Speaking at the opening of the Workshop, Ms. Hoang Dieu Linh, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation, said that the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam highly appreciates the diplomatic relationship between Vietnam and Canada. In 2018, the Government of Vietnam and the Government of Canada adopted a Joint Declaration on establishing a Comprehensive Partnership between Vietnam and Canada. The year 2023 is also an important milestone to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Canada (1973-2023).

Ms. Hoang Dieu Linh said that the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam appreciates the support of the Canadian Government to the Government of Vietnam through ODA aid projects, including the "Food Safety for Development" project which costs 15.3 million CAD (equivalent to 275.4 billion VND) and direct budget support to the Government of Vietnam of approximately 16 million CAD (about 18.5 billion VND) to implement the project "Develop small-medium sized Companies in Tra Vinh province". These supports are very practical and contribute to strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two Governments.

“Joining the comprehensive partnership between the two countries, the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam and the Ministry of Finance of Canada agreed to implement the Financial Policy Dialogue Mechanism between the two Ministries to strengthen financial management cooperation between Canada and Vietnam. Through the Dialogue Mechanism, experts from the two countries will connect and share technical information on issues of mutual interest," Ms. Hoang Dieu Linh emphasized.

Speaking at the Workshop, Mr. James Wu, Director of the Fund Management Department (Canadian Ministry of Finance) highly appreciated Vietnam's commitment to implementing the Policy Dialogue Mechanism to further promote the relationship between the two Ministries as well as create opportunities for the two countries to better understand each other's financial policies.

Information about the core issues in the operating mechanism of the Canadian Ministry of Finance, Mr. James Wu said, representatives of the Canadian Ministry of Finance are in charge of building strong and sustainable policies related to these issues such as finance, taxes, debt and reserves, etc. Units coordinate closely with other ministries, branches, and other financial institutions such as the state bank and partners to promote the construction of a financial framework of their own country.

The 2023 Vietnam-Canada Financial Policy Dialogue Mechanism Workshop includes 3 sessions. Session 1 on September 20 with the topic "Fiscal policy", Session 2 on September 21 with the topic "Debt policy" and Session 3 on September 27 with the topic "Data storage policy in Vietnam in the financial sector”.

In session 1, delegates discussed fiscal policy in the medium and long term; share Canadian experiences in fiscal policy management and fiscal risk monitoring.