Nghe An (VNA) - Vietnam and Laos agreed on orientations to build a shared border of peace, friendship, cooperation, and mutual development during the 2026–2028 period at a conference on January 29.
The conference was held in Vietnam's central province of Nghe An by the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee and Lao Front for National Construction (LFNC) Central Committee.
The two sides consented to boost communication and education to raise public awareness, especially among young people and students, about the exemplary traditional ties between the Vietnamese and Lao peoples. These efforts are meant to inspire pride and a sense of responsibility in preserving and promoting this special bond.
The Fatherland Front committees from nine Vietnamese provinces and cities, along with 10 Lao provinces that share the border, will work more closely together to promote patriotic movements and encourage people to take part in socio-economic growth. Their efforts aim to improve living standards, stabilise livelihoods, and achieve lasting poverty reduction.
The conference also highlighted the need to focus on education, ensuring that all school-age children attend school fully and preventing dropouts. Healthcare for border residents will be enhanced, with favourable conditions created for timely access to medical services, examination and treatment.
Localities along the border will intensify people-to-people exchange activities and improve the effectiveness of twinning programmes between border guard stations, as well as adjacent villages, communes and wards, thereby fostering solidarity, mutual support and shared development.
The two sides agreed to continue encouraging Vietnamese and Lao enterprises and entrepreneurs to invest in infrastructure development, economic zones, commercial centres at border gates and openings, and other socio-economic works in border areas.
Tourism cooperation will also be strengthened through the development and promotion of tourism products and cross-border routes. Annual trade fairs and exhibitions of high-quality products from both countries will be organised in densely populated border areas.
The two sides will enhance coordination in monitoring the situation, collecting legitimate opinions and aspirations of border residents, and promptly reporting them to competent agencies, contributing to a border of peace, friendship, stability and comprehensive cooperation for mutual development.
Addressing the conference, Hoang Cong Thuy, Vice President of the VFF Central Committee, stressed that building a peaceful and stable border between Vietnam and Laos is significant not only for national defence and security, but also for socio-economic development and improving the living standards of ethnic communities.
He asked local Fatherland Front organisations to foster people-to-people exchanges and share experience in production, hunger eradication and poverty reduction, and new-style rural areas building. Facilitating cross-border travel, goods exchange, and access to essential social services for border residents is also important, he said.
According to Thuy, building a Vietnam–Laos border of peace, friendship, cooperation and shared development is a long-term task of the entire political system, with the Fatherland Front playing a core role in mass mobilisation and strengthening national unity and international solidarity.
He stated that in the coming time, the Fatherland Fronts of both countries will focus on cooperation, with emphasis on communication, political coordination and people-to-people diplomacy. They will also expand cooperation among border Front organisations and select practical content for commune- and village-level units in adjacent areas to sign emulation commitments, creating spillover effects in local communities./.
