The Honourable Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade, concluded his visit to Singapore and Vietnam, which showcased Canadian capabilities across key sectors and resulted in concrete trade outcomes.
In Singapore, Minister Sidhu participated in the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada's 2026 Canada-in-Asia Conference, where he highlighted Canada as a leading investment destination, especially in advanced manufacturing, clean technology and data-driven industries. Meetings with major investors, including RGE, a global investor group building strong global partnerships that support Canadian projects like Woodfibre LNG in British Columbia, demonstrated strong confidence in Canada's clean energy leadership and its capacity to attract sustainable investment.
The Minister met with Canada's Heads of Mission in Asia to accelerate trade and investment promotion efforts across the Indo-Pacific. He also visited Bombardier's Singapore Service Centre, the largest company-owned aircraft maintenance facility of its kind in the region, showcasing Canada's global strength in aerospace innovation.
In Singapore and Vietnam, Minister Sidhu met with senior government officials and industry leaders to strengthen bilateral trade and investment ties and to highlight opportunities for Canadian, Singaporean and Vietnamese companies. He emphasized the importance of concluding negotiations toward a free trade agreement between Canada and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year and supporting Vietnam's priorities as 2026 chair of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The Minister met with:
- Gan Kim Yong, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry
- Ms. Gan Siow Huang, Singapore's Minister of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Trade and Industry
- Lê Hoài Trung, Vietnam's Minister of Foreign Affairs,
- Le Ngoc Son, Chairman and CEO, Vietnam Oil and Gas Group
Minister Sidhu, alongside Nguyễn Hải Ninh, Minister of Justice of Vietnam, announced the Vietnam Initiative for Strengthening Trade (VIST), a new, seven‑year project that will receive $7.3 million in funding from Canada and be implemented by the Canadian Bar Association. The project underscores Canada's commitment to supporting Vietnam's economic and trade-related legal reform agenda and the two countries' shared goal of transparent, predictable and rules‑based trade.
Minister Sidhu also announced a financing package valued at US$250 million from the Asian Development Bank-Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), which is contributing to Vietnam's transition to a low-carbon and sustainable future. This includes US$20 million from Canada's Climate and Nature Fund for the Private Sector in Asia to support Vietnamese farmers and agribusinesses adopt more sustainable agriculture practices.
To advance Canada-Vietnam agri-food trade, Minister Sidhu spoke with Vietnamese industry leaders about strengthening supply chains and addressing market access challenges. He attended an agri-food showcase hosted by BRG Mart, a well-known supermarket chain that carries premium Canadian products, such as fresh apples, frozen beef, frozen berries, oatmeal, nuts, dried berries, chocolate and maple syrup. At the showcase, the Minister emphasized Canada's reputation as a reliable supplier of high quality, safe and sustainable food, as well as the tariff advantages provided by the CPTPP. He also spoke about the work Canada and Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Environment have done to resolve market access issues, reopen markets to Canadian salmon and other products and finalise an agreement with Vietnam on African Swine Fever (ASF) zoning certification, to safeguard continued market access for Canadian pork and swine in the event of an ASF outbreak in Canada.
