Vientiane (VNA) – Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Thi Hoang Van held bilateral meetings with Lao, Cambodian and Timor-Leste officials and representatives of the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) in Vientiane on September 14 on the sidelines of the Third Review Conference (3RC) of the Convention on Cluster Munitions 2026 in Vientiane, Laos, to deepen cooperation with regional countries and partners.
At his reception for the Vietnamese official, Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Thongsavanh Phomvihane affirmed that Vietnam’s participation was valuable support for Laos in hosting the conference.
He highlighted the special “one-of-a-kind” relationship between the two countries, saying that the strategic cohesion and orientations agreed at high-level meetings between leaders of the two Parties had brought the Laos-Vietnam relations to a new level.
He also proposed that the two sides focus on promoting key, practical and concrete projects.
For her part, Van conveyed Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung’s greetings and congratulated Laos on the successful organisation of the conference, which contributed to enhancing its international standing.
She affirmed that Vietnam always considers its great friendship, special solidarity, comprehensive cooperation and strategic cohesion with Laos a top priority in its foreign policy.
The two sides spoke highly of the implementation of agreements, conclusions and orientations reached by the two Parties' senior leaders, particularly efforts to resolve difficulties and bottlenecks and create substantive progress in bilateral cooperation. They agreed to continue promoting strategic, key and connectivity projects to realise high-level agreements and create fresh momentum for bilateral ties.
They also decided to closely coordinate preparations for visits by key and senior leaders of the two countries, the annual high-level meeting between the two Parties, the 49th session of the Vietnam-Laos Intergovernmental Committee, and the 11th Vietnam-Laos political consultation at foreign ministerial level, and the 13th Foreign Minister-level Political Consultation; and activities marking the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations and 50 years of the signing of the Vietnam-Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in 2027.
Meeting with Van, Senior Minister and First Vice President of the Cambodian Mine Action and Victim Assistance Authority (CMAA) Ly Thuch expressed gratitude to Vietnam for helping Cambodia overthrow the bloody Pol Pot genocidal regime, and spoke highly of Vietnam’s development achievements. He expressed his belief that under the sound leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Government’s effective governance, Vietnam will achieve greater accomplishments.
The Vietnamese official congratulated Cambodia on its development achievements and affirmed that the Party and State of Vietnam always attach importance to and seek to promote the good neighbourliness, traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation, and long-term sustainability with Cambodia. She suggested the two sides further promote trusted political ties and cooperation in defence-security, trade, investment and people-to-people exchanges.
They pledged to enhance experience sharing and coordinate closely in border protection, combating transnational crime and cybercrime, and promoting people-to-people exchanges. They also underscored the importance of raising public awareness, particularly among young people, of the value of traditional friendship between the two countries, while continuing to coordinate in organising activities towards the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2027.
In their meeting, Van and Timor-Leste Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Bendito Freitas welcomed positive developments in bilateral relations following Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao’s official visit to Vietnam in June.
The two sides agreed to effectively implement high-level agreements and four newly signed documents, while working together to accelerate negotiations on an agreement on investment promotion and protection, and advance the early ratification of the agreement on bilateral trade and the organisation of the inaugural meeting of the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation to address difficulties facing businesses.
They also concurred on plans for activities marking the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2027, with a view to elevating bilateral ties to a new level.
The Vietnamese official, in her meeting with Director of Programmes at Mines Advisory Group (MAG) Greg Crowther and MAG Country Director in Vietnam Sarah Goring, spoke highly of the organisation’s notable achievements in Vietnam since 1999 in clearing land and safely removing bombs and explosives, and raising public awareness of preventing relevant accidents.
MAG’s representatives thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Defence and localities of Vietnam for facilitating its operations, affirming that its strategic orientation would closely align with and effectively serve Vietnam’s National Mine Action Programme for 2026-2045.
During her participation in the 3RC, Van also visited and inspected mine clearance activities in Luang Prabang province of northern Laos and met Vice Governor Vienvilai Dilaphan to discuss ways to promote cooperation between Luang Prabang and Vietnamese localities./.
