Ottawa(VNA) – A delegation of the Hanoi People’s Committee visited Canada from April18-20 to learn about the operation of people-elected agencies and developmentof smart cities in the North American country.

The Hanoiofficials had various activities in Ottawa to promote the friendship betweenthe two capital cities in particular and Vietnam and Canada in general,including the sharing of working experiences of people-elected agencies, theorganisational model of urban administration, investment promotion and publicservice supply.

While in Torontocity, they sought to step up bilateral cooperation in potential areas such ashigh-tech agriculture, financial investment, education-training, trade,services, renewable energy, urban infrastructure and tourism.

The two sidesalso shared experiences in urban administration organisation and smart city development.

Vice Chairman ofthe municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, who led the delegation, hada meeting with Allan O’Dette, Chief Investment Officer of Ontario province.

Tuan told hishost that Hanoi always wishes to enhance cooperation with Ontario, one of thebiggest provinces of Canada, with substantial potential for development.

The officialexpressed his hope that the two sides will deepen the bilateral collaborationpractically and concretely on the basis of commitments made during the visit toHanoi last year by Ontario Governor Kathleen Wynne, as well as demand andpotential of both sides.

Hanoi willcreate the best possible conditions for Canadian investors to run long-term,stable business in the city, he pledged.

For his part,Allan noted his optimistic views on prospects to increase investment tiesbetween the two sides from the present 3 billion USD.

Allan, whoaccompanied Governor Kathleen Wynne to Hanoi and Ho Chi Min last year, saidthat the exchange of delegations will create a foundation to beef up bilateraltrade ties and cooperation in such major areas like infrastructure, IT,agriculture and production.

Statistics showthat in 2017, Hanoi attracted five Canadian foreign direct investment (FDI)projects, raising the accumulated FDI from the country to 29.2 million USD.

Export turnoverbetween Hanoi and Canada in the first nine months of 2017 reached some 267million USD, nearly doubling the average of the previous years.

Hanoi aims toattract more Canadian investments in development investment, health care,high-tech agriculture and finance-banking, while intensifying people-to-peopleand cultural exchanges and trade promotion.-VNA