Gabriel M. Lessard
Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Member economy: Canada

Gabriel-M. Lessard has held Canadian Foreign Affairs postings in Vietnam, and throughout Africa involving trade policy, personnel management, and the United Nations. Ambassador Lessard received a Bachelor's degree in political science and economics in 1971 and a Masters in International Relations in 1975. In early 1980 he received a scholarship to attend the London Graduate School of Business Studies, where he was enrolled in the London Executive Program. From September 1995 to September 1998, he was Canada's Ambassador to Ethiopia with accreditation to Eritrea, Sudan and Djibouti. From 1998 to 2002, he was Director of Francophonie Affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs. Since November 2002, he has worked as Deputy Executive Director and Director of Global Issues with the International Assessment Staff of the Privy Council of Canada.

On November 14th 2006, Canadian Voices delegates had the unique chance to meet with his Excellency Mr. Gabriel Lessard, Canadian Ambassador to Viet Nam. He first stated the problems regarding youth in Vietnam. With 70% of the population being under 30 years of age, it is an everyday challenge for the Vietnamese government to provide jobs. Indeed, in a utopian world, 1.5 million jobs would have to be created annually to have no unemployment. As most jobs are provided by private enterprises, Lessard notes the importance of foreign investment in this south-east Asian Tiger. This note sparked Voices’ interests in learning opportunities for Vietnamese youth in general to get experience abroad. Without hesitation, Mr. Lessard mentioned the experience that youth can get through NGOs, but as these NGOs usually ask for past experience, he mentioned the importance of programs such as Voices of the Future.

Nevertheless, as Canadian participants in Voices, we had to ask him how our country, Canada, appeals to Vietnamese citizens. “Very positive”, was the answer. We learned that both economies have a long history of good relations. However, Lessard still believes that Canada could have more resources in this rising Asian economy.

In conclusion, with the rise of a new generation of Vietnamese power, reinforcing bilateral relationships couldn’t be anything less than mandatory.