Vietnam's top leader arrives in Canada for historic visit

After four days of intensive activities in New York, the top Vietnamese leader and a high-level delegation left the city on Wednesday for a state visit to Canada.

The special flight carrying him and the Vietnamese delegation arrived at Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport after just over an hour in the air.

Canadian Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu welcomed the Vietnamese Party chief and state president at the foot of the aircraft stairs.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Canada Pham Vinh Quang, embassy officials, and representatives of the Vietnamese community in Canada were also at the airport to welcome the top leader.

This is the first visit to Canada by a Vietnamese Party general secretary and state president since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1973.

“For Canada, this is a historic visit. We have never welcomed a Vietnamese Party general secretary and state president, so this is the first time in more than 50 years of Vietnam-Canada diplomatic relations. That in itself is a milestone,” Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam Jim Nickel said.

The visit, he said, would provide an opportunity to create additional political momentum to turn areas of cooperation between the two countries — from trade, investment, defense and security to culture, education, science and technology, and innovation — into concrete projects, capital flows, and results.

In a statement on Vietnamese Party General Secretary and State President To Lam’s visit, the Canadian side emphasized that Vietnam is an important partner for Canada in the Indo-Pacific region and a valued partner within APEC and the International Organization of the Francophonie.

Canada also said the two countries have a broad and long-standing foundation for cooperation, reflected in close coordination both bilaterally and multilaterally, extensive people-to-people ties, growing economic and trade cooperation, as well as collaboration in energy security and climate change response.

The visit is expected to open a new phase of more strategic and comprehensive development in bilateral relations and contribute positively to peace and stability in the region and the world.

Ambassador Quang said that in trade, investment, and supply chain diversification, the two countries are well positioned to boost high-quality trade flows, expand logistics connectivity, enhance customs cooperation, and facilitate trade.

Deepening cooperation in agriculture, food, consumer goods, processing industries, and key export sectors would help both sides make better use of existing trade frameworks while creating opportunities to attract long-term Canadian investment in infrastructure, transport, and key economic sectors, he said.

In science, technology, and innovation, the visit is expected to strengthen cooperation in areas including clean technology, smart agriculture, new materials, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and digital transformation, in line with Vietnam’s development goals for a digital and knowledge-based economy.

Agreements reached during the visit would also help strengthen connections among research institutes, universities and businesses in the two countries.

In energy and critical minerals, the two countries could promote cooperation in renewable energy, clean hydrogen and liquefied natural gas, as well as develop value chains for critical minerals serving high-tech industries.

In 2025, bilateral trade between Vietnam and Canada reached US$8.6 billion. The figure stood at $4.92 billion in the first six months of 2026, according to Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Vietnam is Canada’s leading trading partner in ASEAN and its sixth-largest trading partner among 40 Indo-Pacific countries.

Canada is Vietnam’s third-largest export market in the Americas and seventh-largest export market worldwide.

Canada ranks 14th among 143 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with more than 294 active projects and total registered capital of more than $4.9 billion.

Over 20,000 Vietnamese students are studying in Canada, up from 14,000 in 2017, representing the highest increase among ASEAN countries, while the Vietnamese community in Canada numbers around 300,000 people.