At the meeting, Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son hailed Canada’s wish to further deepen ties with ASEAN.
Son suggested Canada assist ASEAN in timely and full access to COVID-19 vaccines, promote specific measures to help regional countries deal with impacts caused by the pandemic.
Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau expressed his wish to upgrade ties with ASEAN, join ASEAN-led cooperation mechanisms more deeply and soon launch talks on a free trade agreement between ASEAN and Canada.
ASEAN member states also lauded Canada’s donation of 3.5 million CAD (2.8 million USD) to the ASEAN COVID-19 response fund and a medical supplies package worth 4.5 million CAD to the grouping./.
