Trent University President and Vice-Chancellor Cathy Bruce served as an official respondent on behalf of Canada to Vietnamese President Tô Lâm's speech at the Canada-Vietnam Policy Forum in Ottawa, part of the state visit that also included a meeting between President Lâm and Prime Minister Mark Carney. 

Co-hosted by the Canada-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group and the Embassy of Vietnam, the forum explored the developing Strategic Partnership between the two countries. In her remarks, President Bruce emphasized that international cooperation depended on expertise and partners who respected each nation’s authority. 

"Universities and academic research...advance discovery and ensure high-quality, productive partnerships," said President Bruce. "Universities and the growing partners here today are helping to build the talent and capacity that enables our nations to pursue ambitious goals.” 

President Bruce pointed to Trent’s longstanding work with Vietnamese institutions through the International Institute for Environmental Studies, of which Trent was a founding partner, as an example of this partnership in action. Supported by initiatives including the Queen Elizabeth Scholars program, the collaboration has created opportunities for joint environmental research, student and faculty mobility, and talent development. New memoranda of understanding being signed in Ottawa between Trent and its Vietnamese partners will deepen these relationships and support the next phase of cooperation. 

“These are practical steps universities are taking," President Bruce said. "They are investments in the people and resources that make a Canada-Vietnam Strategic Partnership durable.” 

Speaking alongside President Bruce as part of the forum were Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, Canadian Senator Yuen Pau Woo, Sun Life President Jessica Tan and Business Council of Canada President and CEO Goldy Hyder. 

Watch President Bruce's full remarks (begins at 1:44:00).