NA Chairman meets with Lao top leader in Vientiane

Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) Tran Thanh Man on October 18 met with General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith in Vientiane, within the framework of his official visit to the neighbouring country and his attendance at the 45th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA).

NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man (L) meets with General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith (Photo: VNA)
NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man (L) meets with General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith (Photo: VNA)

Vientiane (VNA) - Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) Tran Thanh Man on October 18 met with General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith in Vientiane, within the framework of his official visit to the neighbouring country and his attendance at the 45th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA).

Welcoming Man and the high-level NA delegation, Sisoulith said that the visit carries important significance and will contribute to further strengthening the closely-knit relationship between the two countries. It serves as a great encouragement and motivation for Laos during its tenure as ASEAN Chair and AIPA Chair in 2024.

He thanked the Vietnamese Party, State, and people for standing by the side of Laos in its past struggle for national liberation and assisting its present nation building and development.

The Lao top leader spoke highly of the two sides' active coordination in implementing the outcomes of the recent meeting between members of their Politburos, in which Vietnam established a task force to carry out the cooperation agreements, and the Lao side organised a conference to assign specific tasks to its ministries and sectors.

Expressing his delight at the significant and historic achievements that Laos has made after nearly 40 years of renewal and more than three years of implementing the 11th National Party Congress’s Resolution, Man said he believes that under the sound leadership of the LPRP, the government’s administration, and the supervision of the legislature, Laos will be well-prepared for the upcoming 12th Party Congress and build a socio-economic development plan 2026-2030, continuing to build a prosperous Laos with an increasingly elevated position on the international stage.

The two sides highly valued the fine and solid development of the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos, with important contributions by the two NAs.

They stressed the need to fully promote their long-standing traditions of close and reliable cooperation, actively implement the high-level agreements, and strengthen collaboration between the two legislative bodies, especially in delegation exchanges and the sharing of experiences in constitutional amendments and supreme supervision, and in making decisions on key national issues. Additionally, they highlighted the importance of collaborating closely with and supporting each other at parliamentary and international forums such as the AIPA, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF)./.

VNA

See more

Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung (left) and DPRK Minister of Foreign Affairs Choe Son Hui. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnamese FM, DPRK officials discuss ways to boost bilateral ties

Trung reiterated that Vietnam places strong emphasis on strengthening and advancing its ties with the DPRK in a more practical and effective way, in line with the aspirations of the two nation’s people, while contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of its Organisation Commission Nguyen Duy Ngoc chairs the first meeting of the steering committee for digital transformation in the Party organisation and personnel sector in Hanoi on May 13, 2026. (Photo: VNA)

Party building work prioritises clean, shared data in digital transformation push

Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of its Organisation Commission Nguyen Duy Ngoc urged provinces and cities to review legal frameworks, decentralisation mechanisms, assigned tasks and administrative procedures, while ensuring synchronisation between local infrastructure systems and the central platform, including equipment, cybersecurity solutions and resource allocation.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and State President To Lam speaks at the working session in Hanoi on May 13, 2026. (Photo: VNA)

Party, State leader calls for consolidation of central steering committees on legal, judicial reform

Consolidating the central steering committees for institutional and legal reform and for judicial reform is necessary in order to streamline organisational structures without reducing responsibilities, while ensuring clear accountability, measurable outputs and concrete results. Following the restructuring, the body will be renamed the central steering committee for institutional improvement and law enforcement, with the Party General Secretary and State President serving as its head.

Civil servants provides administrative services for citizens in Son Hai commune of Bac Ninh province. (Photo: VNA)

Reform drive expected to remove barriers, unlock growth momentum

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung recently ordered ministries and agencies to immediately cut at least 30% of administrative procedures, 50% of processing time, 50% of compliance costs and 30% of business conditions, while eliminating all unnecessary procedures.

Ambassador Do Hung Viet, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), meets with Annalena Baerbock, President of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA). (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam strives for substantive outcome at NPT review conference

At the meeting this week, Ambassador Viet briefed the UNGA President on developments during the first two weeks of the conference. He stressed that the current international geopolitical landscape poses numerous complex challenges, while reaffirming Vietnam’s determination, together with other member states, to promote substantive and balanced outcomes at the conference.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President of Vietnam To Lam (R) receives Athsaphangthong Siphandone, member of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Vientiane Party Committee and Chairman of the municipal People’s Council, in Hanoi on May 12, 2026. (Photo: VNA)

Top leader of Vietnam receives Vientiane official in Hanoi

The host leader stressed that cooperation between localities, particularly between the capitals of Hanoi and Vientiane, plays an especially important role as a pioneering force in effectively implementing the foreign polices of the two Parties and States, while also serving as a bridge between politics and development, as well as between strategy and concrete action.

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung receives Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam He Wei in Hanoi on May 12. Photo: VNA

Prime Minister receives Chinese Ambassador

The Party and State of Vietnam always value the assistance China has provided to Vietnam during its past struggle for national independence as well as in national development today. Vietnam consistently regards the development of relations with China as a steadfast policy, an objective requirement, a strategic choice, and a top priority in its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification.

Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Tran Duc Thang and Secretary of the Vientiane Party Committee Atsaphangthong Siphandone witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the Women’s Unions of Hanoi and Vientiane for 2026–2030, as well as a memorandum on enhanced cooperation between the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of Hanoi and the Lao People’s Revolutionary Youth Union of Vientiane for the same period. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi, Vientiane promote comprehensive cooperation in new phase

The capitals of Vietnam and Laos signed memoranda of understanding on joint work in the fields of public communication and mass mobilisation, women and youth affairs, foreign relations, industry and trade, education and health care. These are expected to provide an important basis for implementing their cooperation priorities for 2026–2030.