Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung on October 3 chaired a meeting with ministries, sectors, localities, and enterprises to review the implementation of Vietnam-Laos cooperation projects so far this year.
According to a report by the Ministry of Finance, the implementation of the agreement on the Vietnam–Laos cooperation plan between January and August has met set goals and yielded important results.
Vietnam’s registered investment capital in Laos reached 322 million USD, six times higher than the same period in 2024, focusing on energy, mining, and transport services. To date, Vietnamese businesses have invested in 274 projects in Laos, with total registered capital of 5.82 billion USD and realised capital of about 3 billion USD. Many of these projects are operating effectively.
Aid-funded projects provided by Vietnam for Laos have maintained the planned schedule. Project owners from both sides have actively coordinated in implementation, with many projects already completed, handed over, and put into operation.
Among projects funded by the Vietnamese Government for the Lao counterpart, two are expected to be completed in 2025. Of the five ongoing projects, four are slated for completion in 2026, and one has already been finished. Of four projects under preparation, three are scheduled for completion between 2027 and 2029, and one is expected in 2026. Additionally, the two sides are working to finalise procedures and seek approval for three new projects.
At the meeting, Dung tasked the Ministry of Construction with studying the feasibility of a railway route. The Ministry of Industry and Trade was asked to continue discussions with Laos to review the feasibility of an oil storage project, report and propose alternatives if more suitable, and consider expanding the scale of electricity imports from Laos while adjusting import pricing frameworks to encourage private enterprises to invest in transmission line expansion.
He noted that the Ministry of Finance will coordinate with other ministries to study the feasibility of a route from the Lao capital of Vientiane to Thanh Thuy in Vietnam’s Phu Tho province, and report to the Government. It will also urgently allocate funds for the construction of the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Hospital.
The hospital and the Laos–Vietnam friendship park are set to be inaugurated on December 19, the Deputy PM stressed./.
Plan issued for implementing Vietnam–Laos trade agreement
The plan aims to effectively implement the Vietnam – Laos Trade Agreement signed on April 8, 2024, facilitating businesses in applying preferential import tariffs, demonstrating the special friendship and importance both sides attach to their ties, thus further promoting the bilateral trade ties.
