Delegates attend the online workshop to explore smart city development trends in Vietnam (Photo: VNA)

Experts said this is an opportunity for Canadian firms operating in the sector to form relations with Vietnamese partners, focusing on solutions to optimise traffic divergence, reduce energy consumption, and promote automation in waste management.

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency in Ottawa, Elizabeth McIninch, Director of the Canada-Vietnam Trade Council, expressed a belief that Vietnam and Canada will become excellent partners in smart city building now and in the future.

She noted that apart from their 47 years of diplomatic relations, bilateral cooperation projects in science-technology, trade-investment, agriculture, and infrastructure, and Vietnam’s position as Canada’s largest trade partner in ASEAN, the two countries should also pay attention to the new global context, as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is easing trade barriers.

Both Vietnam and Canada are now accelerating investments in smart city technologies and projects, with building e-government to develop sustainable cities becoming the cornerstone of government planning and industrial activities. Vietnam is currently rated by Canadian analysts as one of the most powerful markets in the world for smart city building.

McIninch unveiled that the council has planned to work with the Organisation of Women in International Trade - Toronto (OWIT-Toronto) and the Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs Council (VWEC) to organise an online fact-finding tour of the Vietnamese market for a business delegation in autumn./.

BTA