On March 13, 2012, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, in collaboration with the Canadian Embassy, organized a scientific seminar on the topic "Canadian Studies: The Relationship between Domestic and Foreign Policy".Attending the seminar were Ms. Deborah Chatsis - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Vietnam, Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Khanh - Rector of the University, Associate Professor Dr. Pham Quang Minh - Vice Rector of the University, and scientists from Canada and Vietnam. At the seminar, scientists presented papers and exchanged views on Canada's domestic and foreign policies in the context of a volatile world and the current trend of globalization. In his opening remarks, Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Khanh emphasized: As a leading training and research center in the Vietnamese higher education community, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has established early cooperative relationships with Canadian universities such as the University of Toronto, the University of Ottawa, the University of Quebec at Montreal, and the University of Quebec En Abitibi Témiscamingue. In November 2011, during his working visit to Vietnam, the Governor General of Canada, David Johnson, showed great interest and took the time to visit the University. Continuing this positive relationship, the School is honored to co-organize a scientific seminar on Canada with the participation of researchers and lecturers from Vietnam.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Vietnam, Ms. Deborah Chatsis, affirmed that relations between Vietnam and Canada are increasingly strengthened and expanding. Trade and trade turnover between the two countries reached US$1.6 billion in 2011. Vietnam is Canada's third largest export market in Southeast Asia and Canada is the fifth largest investor in Vietnam. Canada's policy orientation in the coming period continues to focus on cooperation with the Asia-Pacific region, including Vietnam. Referring to the relationship between Canada and Vietnam since the official establishment of diplomatic relations, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Thi Vinh (Hanoi University of Education) outlined the achievements in the political-diplomatic, economic-trade fields and examined the prospects of this relationship. In her presentation, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Thi Vinh argued that Vietnam and Canada have had diplomatic relations for nearly 40 years, and both countries possess considerable economic potential. However, in reality, economic and trade relations and investment cooperation have not been commensurate with their potential. The prospects for developing Vietnam-Canada relations, especially in the economic and trade sectors, depend heavily on trade and investment promotion, image building, and the exchange of updated information between the two countries. In her research on Canada, Ms. Duong Hong Anh (Faculty of International Studies – University of Social Sciences and Humanities) explored Canada's multicultural policy. Ms. Duong Hong Anh discussed the multicultural landscape of Canada, the formation process of Canada's multicultural policy, and offered assessments of its implementation domestically and internationally. Ms. Duong Hong Anh emphasized: A very important and highly practical point is that Canada's multicultural policy allows immigrants to integrate their root national identity with their new national identity in a more "integration-oriented" rather than "assimilation-oriented" manner. In addition, several other studies have discussed specific issues related to Canada's domestic and foreign policies: Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Manh (Institute of American Studies) provided an overview of the political system, the basic roles and functions of the Canadian Government and Parliament, thereby showing the influence of the political system on the implementation of Canadian government policies; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy (Faculty of International Studies – University of Social Sciences and Humanities) conducted a comprehensive study of the achievements of cooperation between Canada and ASEAN, contributing to understanding the potential for international cooperation and Canada's foreign policy in general and in its relations with Southeast Asian countries in particular. The scientific seminar contributed to strengthening understanding and cooperative relations between Vietnam and Canada, expanding the network of research and teaching about Canada in Vietnam.
