Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith (R) receives Vietnamese Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung on March 30 (Photo: VNA) Vientiane (VNA) – Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith applauded the effective and close cooperation between his country’s finance ministry and its Vietnamese counterpart while receiving Vietnam’s financial officials in Vientiane on March 30.
He asked the two sides to increase information and experience exchange, noting that Vietnam’s experience is valuable, especially when Laos is coping with difficulties in budget collection.
Vietnamese Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung thanked the Lao PM and Government for facilitating the two ministries’ cooperation, briefing the host leader about the outcomes of a high-level seminar on the management of taxation, customs and treasury earlier the same day.
Vietnam is ready to share its experience and assist the Lao Finance Ministry to develop the treasury, taxation and customs systems, he added.
Also on March 30, Minister Dung and his Lao counterpart Somdy Duangdy, who is also a Deputy Prime Minister, co-chaired the 13th meeting of the steering board for the two ministries’ cooperation.
The two sides reviewed their partnership in 2016 and discussed cooperation programmes for this year. They also updated each other on their respective countries’ macro-economy and financial and budget management activities.
They agreed to approve the cooperation plan for 2017 and specified cooperation priorities for 2017-2020.
Accordingly, Vietnam’s Finance Ministry will continue helping its Lao counterpart in institutional reform and overhauling the legal framework for public debt management, budget collection, and organisation of taxation, customs and treasury sectors.
It will also support the Lao financial personnel to improve their capacity through training courses, including on-the-spot training at the Vietnamese ministry.
Both ministries also concurred in enhancing mutual visits at all levels, continuing infrastructure construction for some schools managed by Laos’s Finance Ministry, and raising the quality of personnel exchanges.-VNA
VNA
